Pennywise: The Story of It (2022) Movie Drinking Game
Pour One Out To: the late Jonathan Brandis and one of my eternal favorites, the late John Ritter, who both played pivotal roles in the show.
Down a Shot: every time clips of archival footage featuring Stephen King or a young Tim Curry are rolled out
Down a Shot: for every animated sequence
Down a Shot: for each sassy remark by either Tim Curry or Emily Perkins (two extremely wry and witty peas in a pod after my own heart!)
Down a Shot: each time a cast or crew member spills the beans on the backstage mischief
Down a Shot: each time a cast or crew member feels uncomfortable addressing the infamous orgy scene that was fortunately left out (yeah, that gets a shout-out too)
By: Vidal D’costa (A Toast) –
Pennywise: The Story of It is a crowdfunded documentary featuring exclusive interviews interspersed with archival footage and animated sequences that pay homage to the unparalleled genius of Tim Curry, the hard work of the stunts, effects, and makeup department onboard the 1990 miniseries based on Stephen King’s It, as well as the collective efforts in bringing a beloved literary work alive as well as ensuring that generations of 90s kids would never be able to sleep a blink, forever looking over their shoulders in fear of a killer clown lurking somewhere in the sewer system…
A Toast
I’m from the noughties/early 2000s generation, so forgive me for not holding a shred of nostalgia towards the It miniseries that was cherished by almost every single kid who grew up circa 1990. Although, I am more knowledgeable on the grittier and slightly more gory big-screen adaptations starring Bill Skarsgård in the lead as the killer clown Pennywise that were released decades later.
However, regardless of the difference in time period and absence of nostalgia on my part, this documentary still lured me in with its endlessly fascinating factoids as well as the collective charisma of the ensemble cast and crew who all recounted the good old days of hanging out on set with much endearment and nostalgia- with many of the then up and coming child actors such as Seth Green even reminiscing about how the miniseries was in fact their onscreen debut or even their first taste of working in the film and television industry.
Pennywise: The Story of It also delves into the hard-core prosthetics involved in transforming the talented and versatile Tim Curry into the sick and twisted Pennywise the clown. Curry has always impressed me with his acting chops and my respect for him only doubled as he regaled the viewers with anxiety-inducing anecdotes about enduring solvent baths in his previous prosthetic-heavy roles such as Darkness in Legend (1985) and the rigorous amount of time that he spent on the sets of It decked out in clown make-up and costume, all without a single complaint, like a thorough professional and with a side of his trademark British sass and spirited energy.
The ‘kids’ too offered insight into the mischief carried out while filming on location in Vancouver and one will probably relate to the difficulties faced by the patient director Tommy Lee Wallace and his assistant director in reigning in the young and chaotic cast. One such instance even involved police involvement after the ‘losers’ wreaked havoc with their constant pranks in a Vancouver neighborhood, much to the chagrin of locals! And the actors playing their adult counterparts were apparently no less! I felt a whole lot of sympathy particularly towards the brutally honest and sardonic Emily Perkins who offered her two cents on her male co-stars, especially expressing her frustration at being the only girl in a sea full of lively adolescent lads and persevering through their gags.
Another aspect that I found interesting is the manner in which many of the anecdotes and experiences are interconnected, for instance, the child actors and their adult peers recounting about how they worked together in order to find a mutual trait that their characters could exhibit onscreen to ‘bridge the gap’ caused by odd casting choices and to deliver a more convincing performance, or parallels drawn between Tim Curry and Frank Turner’s ‘unorthodox’ casting in the roles of the villainous clown and Beverly’s abusive father respectively despite both actors being perceived by the cast and crew as notoriously nice guys in real life.
The graphics design team behind the documentary, too, deserves to be lauded for the vivid animated sequences that bring to life the countless behind-the-scenes anecdotes of the cast and crew.
Lastly, kudos to director Tommy Lee Wallace for not shying away from admitting that the final project may perhaps not have been entirely free of its flaws, even apologising for the finale that many viewers and critics deemed as lacklustre and expressing his regret over not being able to do full justice to the source material (despite the long-standing popularity of the mini series) either due to time constraints, censorship in the 90s, or budgetary limitations.
Verdict
Pennywise: The Story of It is an extremely by the books documentary and a love letter to its subject and will appeal to you regardless of which adaptation of It you grew up on. It’s also a must watch if you’re a horror aficionado or are keen on learning about the evolution of network television over the years. In my personal opinion, it certainly satisfied my appetite for all things Tim Curry and John Ritter as well.
