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 GROWIN’
A BEARD (Aspyr
Media) Documentary. Approx 30 minutes. Not rated. Every year for the
last 70 years or so, the lil’ town of
Shamrock
, Texas
partakes in a rather odd contest. Commencing on January 1st of the year,
clean shaven male contestants grow a Donegal (beard like facial hair
growth that follows the jaw line; think of a leprechaun). Come
St.
Patrick’s Day, the contestants line up to see who has the thickest and
best looking Donegal. This documentary follows three townie contestants,
and one hairy arse outsider who hopes to buck the trend of home town
victors.
Although
I found the up close and personal shots of the men shaving rather yucky
(you need to see how these old farts shave. Ouch!), I found Growin’
a Beard to be an amusing and entertaining documentary with great small
town charm. The main emphasis of the doc swirls around the contest,
contestants, and town officials, but Director Mike
Woolf does a nice job incorporating the history of Shamrock and some
of its local landmarks. Along with the main documentary, this DVD is
loaded with extras; three audio commentaries, outtakes, a “How Not to
Make a Documentary” featurette (which is damn funny), world and Shamrock
premiers, and a photo gallery of Shamrock’s 1939 St. Patrick’s Day
festivities. However, the best extra is an approx 10 minute short
documentary, “The 72oz Steak;” which documents one man’s quest to
eat a 72 oz steak, a salad, shrimp cocktail, and rolls all for the sake of
getting the meal for free. Just watching this one will fill yer belly.
Hell, you can give it shot, just visit The Big Texan Steak Ranch in
Amarillo
,
TX
. Also included is the CD soundtrack for Growin a Beard by The Gourds
(folksy/Irish music). Oh wait, there’s even more. You also get a small
booklet and an official Shamrock permit that allows the holder to be clean
shaven on St. Paddy’s Day (would normally cost you one buckaroo,
bucko!). Ah, watch the DVD for a better explanation. I enjoyed this set,
and think I may even grow a Donegal…- Denis Sheehan
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