AFF Review: Thank You for Judging

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Thank You for Judging poster

If you enjoy watching the National Geography Bee and love the 2002 film Spellbound, but wonder, "Where is the love for kids who do speech and debate?" you will likely enjoy Thank You for Judging. Texan actor Michael Urie (best known for his work on Ugly Betty), one of four credited directors on this movie, took a camera crew to spend a weekend at the Texas Forensic Association's state competition in 2008, resulting in this documentary.

Thank You for Judging follows teens from Plano Senior High School (Urie's alma mater) as well as students from Creekview High in Carrollton as they go through the stages of the tournament in Coppell, Texas. Neither ice nor sleet nor snow will keep these determined teens from competing, althoughwintry weather almost delays the competition. To give the viewer an idea of what they're in for, Plano coach Karen Wilbanks states, "All art is competitive."

The TFA contest encompasses many variations on speech and debate, and while the film speedily covers the basics of debate, the main focus is on "interp." There is dramatic interpretation and humorous interpretation, where a solo student acts out a scene from a play, performing multiple characters with very limited blocking. Duo interpretation allows for two participants to perform a scene, but they can't look at or touch each other while acting it out. Watching the kids perform in duo is amazing; they're using some groundbreaking techniques.

One of the Plano teens introduced in Thank You for Judging is Mario, a senior student who places in the Original Oratory contest. He has written a speech about gender identity that we watch him deliver in an honest and engaging fashion. The kids from Plano and Carrolton on whom the movie focuses are all very personable and tend towards the photogenic.

It is touching to see how involved the coaches/teachers get in supporting their students through the competition, but one never gets the feeling that the stakes are very high for these kids. Is it because they attend wealthy school districts that can afford to cover the competition costs? Most likely.

Students in the film are from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, but they seem to share a similar economic background. For about three minutes, the crew talks to a teacher from small-town Princeton, Texas, who has to drive his kids to tournament on a yellow schoolbus, but that's about all we see of him and his kids.

Thank You for Judging covers this statewide contest in a quirky style. Despite a few technical issues (specifically sound-related), the documentary is an interesting and fun glance into the world of speech competition.

Texas connections: Thank You for Judging was shot in Texas. Three of the film's co-directors have Lone Star ties: Actor/filmmaker Michael Urie grew up in Plano, Travis Flournoy is from Longview, and Sean Fornara has lived in Plano.

[Poster art from Thank You for Judging found on Facebook]