The Hollywood Librarian

I was so looking forward to The Hollywood Librarian, a feature-length film that presents itself as "a look at librarians through film." This movie has nothing to do with Hollywood, and it is certainly not a look at librarians through film. It is a misnamed, poorly edited, meandering hodge podge of disjointed vignettes that fails to cohere. Sure, there are occasional snippets of semi-famous movie scenes featuring librarians, but these are incidental and generally pass without comment, as if they are simply filler.

Evidently, Anne Seidl spent five years making this film, the first feature-length film about librarians, if you exclude Midnight Librarians ("Ever wonder what librarians do after hours when they remove their glasses, lose the orthopedic shoes and let their hair hang down?" ...). While I think many librarians will look favorably upon this film, I would be astonished if the general public shows any interest in it.

I could watch a well-executed documentary on just about any topic (I loved March of the Penguins, Crumb, Super Size Me, Best in Show, but I think I will draw the line at Nick Nolte: No Exit). The only thing that kept me watching The Hollywood Librarian is the fact that I am a librarian, but that didn't stop me from checking my watch every few minutes and wondering how much time was left. I'll never get that time back.

Some day, I will make a documentary about Librarians and I guarantee you that there will be nudity.