![]() The speculation on Tim’s sexuality is limited to what can be discerned from his own personal writing, which recounted both a desire to be popular with girls, and an attraction to his closest male friend as a teenager. He was almost certainly a novelty and curiosity, but it certainly led to more acceptance and affection than he got from his parents.Īs is often the case, sadly, fame did little to help Tiny Tim move past the pain of a dysfunctional childhood, parents who were unable to accept the strange space child they were given, a twisted view of sin and religion, and confusion over his sexuality. That he was warmly received by everyone from Johnny Carson to Bob Dylan, let alone that the world found him so intriguing that his marriage to “Miss Vicky” Budinger was at one point the second highest rated television event after the moon landing, is both heart-warming, and baffling. There seemed to be nothing calculated or cynical about it. By all accounts, though, that’s who Tim was, both on-stage and off. On top of that, he acted weird too, coming off in interviews like an awkward, giggly child, even though he was in his 30s by the time he became a star. Tim not only sounded weird, he looked weird, with a nose so prominent it inspired the design for Danny DeVito’s Penguin makeup in Batman Returns. According to his diaries, Tim simply woke up one day able to sing like that, and attributed it to God, with whom he had a complicated (to put it lightly) relationship. Tiny Tim, born Herbert Khaury, escaped a lonely, abusive childhood through music, though his career didn’t take off until he began singing in that signature half-ethereal/half-brain splitting octave. Bolstered by Marko Mestrovic’s somber animation, and with Tim’s diaries read by Weird Al Yankovic, it paints a colorful, moving portrait of someone who found fame with a persona that seemed both from a different planet, and yet was completely authentic at the same time. Johan von Sydow’s Tiny Tim: King for a Day is an affectionate (but also honest) look at a most unlikely star. That’s thanks to his music being featured in the pilot episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, when SpongeBob serves hungry Krusty Krab customers to the tune of “Livin’ in the Sunlight, Lovin’ in the Moonlight.” If you hear Tiny Tim’s strange, quavery falsetto even once, you’ll never forget it, and that’s before you even see what he looked like. The miracle of Tiny Tim (no, the other one) is that, despite his being dead for almost 25 years (and mostly considered a has-been long before he passed), the kids today still know vaguely who he is. (This review is part of our coverage of the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival.) ![]() Johan von Sydow directs a touching, engaging documentary of a true one-of-a-kind performer.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |