Tulsa United Film Festival 2009

Fatz Geronimo. Mitzi Mozzarella. Billy Bob (no, not Thornton). You won’t hear about the tumultuous times of these fallen stars or their powerful fan base on VH1’s Behind the Music. Which is kind of surprising actually, because the background story here is every bit as enthralling as that of Journey or Quiet Riot.

Consisting entirely of animatronic robots, The Rock-afire Explosion dazzled (and in some cases, frightened) children across America at pre-Chuck E. Cheese child-tainment chain, Showbiz Pizza. For those of us that don’t recall the ‘Biz (or haven’t caught the circulating Rock-afire YouTube videos), director Brett Whitcomb’s touching doc serves up a nostalgic slice from a parallel 80’s universe, focusing primarily on the lives of Rock-afire inventor Aaron Fechter, and the Rock-afire’s biggest fan, Chris Thrash.

If you love films about robots, obsessive fans and/or obscure 80s pop culture, you’re in for an absolute treat. Completely devoid of irony or condescension, Rock-afire is a colorful celebration of passionate, dedicated fandom in the unlikeliest of places.

Nerd pride, represent!

*Recently appeared on the Carson Daly show.