'TIny Tim: King For a Day' Review
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 18 Minutes
Production Companies: Memento Film
Distributor: Juno Films
Director: Johan von Sydow
Cast: Tiny Tim, D.A. Pennebaker, Wavy Gravy, Jonas Mekas, Tommy James, "Weird Al" Yankovic
Release Date: TBD
Tiny Tim could have only found himself accepted by the general public in the era of peace and love. Starting in the late ’60s, Tiny Tim, a shy little boy from NYC born Herbert Khaury, who only sought love and acceptance, became world famous for both his Vaudeville-era inspired music and his unique personality. Hit records and legendary TV appearances made him a household name, but as the ’60s turned to the ’70s, Tiny Tim's fame, like many other performers of era, waned, and he would soon go from superstar to has-been. To a fragile soul like Tiny Tim, this would bring back years of rejection and break his heart. This, however, is not a typical story of fame won and lost, because Tiny Tim was by no means a typical talent, 100% genuine and 100% original. Tiny Tim may only have been KING FOR A DAY, but for that day he reigned like no other.
If you’re a Millennial or Gen-Z, you probably know of Tiny Tim because of Spongebob Squarepants’s pilot episode, which features his song “Livin’ in the Sunlight, Lovin’ in the Moonlight”. If not, you associate him with that scary-ass climax from James Wan’s Insidious, which features a slowed version of his song “Tiptoe Thru’ the Tulips With Me”. The Manhattan-born artist was a mystery to many, but he was so damn talented and it was very enlightening to hear his story in this doc by Johan von Sydow.
Stitched together with never-before-seen archival footage, interviews with surviving friends/family/fans, New Yorker-like sharp-edged black-and-white animated sketches, and fitting narration by the musical icon “Weird Al” Yankovic — who reads Tim’s preserved diary entries — the film covers Tiny Tim’s rise to fame. It even covers his heartbreaking origins as a misunderstood outcast because of his interests and desire to sing in a high-octave “sissy way,” as he says. Watching his story unfold and hearing excerpts from his diary, it becomes obvious that the trauma from his abusive childhood, especially the weight of religion, followed him into adulthood. The man suffered from violent physical and mental abuse with prominent long-term effects that the film briefly hints on but never truly dives into. Though he was labeled a freak, he became popular while performing at dive bars in 1950s Manhattan. Even the legendary film critic Roger Ebert saw him perform when he was just a young lad starting in journalism.
What the film lacks in storytelling is made up for with harrowing footage. Many of the recovered videos of Tiny Tim are clips you can’t find on the internet. There’s even footage of his fatal heart attack, which is triggering to watch. Seriously, you see the moment Tim straight-up dies. This might’ve been my first time seeing footage of a famous person’s death, which is an incredibly bold move for a documentary.
While the doc highlights many enticing aspects of Tim’s life, it’s paced too swiftly and covers everything in a light breeze. The film is barely over an hour long and it feels that way. Tiny Tim sounds like a larger-than-life figure, yet his documentary is short and hits such basic points. The tales told by fans and the people he associated with later in life are so fascinating and a 72-minute film simply can’t cover it all. It’s like Johan von Sydow asked his subjects for summaries of their stories rather than in-depth tales.
Despite its brief runtime, Tiny Tim: King For a Day is a very serviceable and well-crafted music documentary that is provides enough insight into the life of a larger than life musician.
Rating: 3/5 | 67%
