FANTASIA 2020 | "Class Action Park" Celebrates An Era Of Outrageous Human Behavior For The Sake Of Nostalgia
4/12 ForReel Score | 1.5/5 Stars
Waterparks are a staple for family entertainment in many regions. Action Park however, as Class Action Park details, was the highest level of reckless fun that a water park could achieve. A generation developed fond memories and hazardous bonding experiences thanks to Action Park, but I walked away from Class Action Park feeling less than thrilled.
Class Action Park brings together the testimonies of former Action Park staff and guests to illustrate how obviously absurd the waterpark was in the 80’s. The documentary takes a peek at the character of the park’s creator, Gene Mulvihill, and tells the story of the park’s first reported fatality. But ultimately, nostalgia is the sentiment at the forefront of this production.
Which is the problem for me with Class Action Park: the assertion that the waterpark’s nostalgia is a more interesting premise than the moral transgressions of Mr. Mulvihill and the consequences associated with them. The documentary spends an adverse amount of its runtime reminiscing on the park ride experiences, dangerous operational conditions, and adolescent behaviors and not enough time investigating the lack of accountability of the man that instigated it all.
Instead, everything about Class Action Park is about nostalgia. Even the documentary itself, with a 1980’s synthy score enthusiastically narrated by John Hodgman with childish animation segments, attempts to recapture that tube TV on a cart in middle school history class experience. Without being onboard the nostalgia train, Class Action Park becomes an overlong parable of insensible human behavior and one big missed opportunity to critically scrutinize why the existence of this perilous playground was tolerated for so long.
Ultimately, the romanticism of this unruly venue endorsed by Class Action Park is a sentiment I can’t revere as much as others. I can only imagine that in the lifespan of Action Park there are other more compelling stories that preserve nostalgia while better condemning the park and its ownership for the tragedies that resulted from gross negligence. Class Action Park periodically acknowledges these wells of rich and provocative conflict, yet chooses too often to revert back to being something more akin to a PG-13 waterpark special on the Travel Channel.
Acting and Casting - 1 | Visual Effects and Editing - 1 | Story and Message - 0 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 0 | What does this mean?
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