Know Your Mushrooms – DVD Review

The Film:

Prior to seeing the new Ron Mann film, Know Your Mushrooms, my personal relationship with mushrooms have always been on this stance: they’re gross, they’re squishy, and I don’t eat anything that comes from the Fungus family. I can’t claim that this documentary changed my perspective, but it did unveil some facts that made me be not as harsh on the ‘shrooms.

Ron Mann uses a hand held approach to the film, something that feels like some sort of fan made film on the subject. With two main subject as an area of focus, Larry Evans a sort of guru in the field of mushrooms, and Gary Lincoff, this celebrator of the hallucinogen aspects of the mushroom, makes everything feel at first, boring. It takes a while, but Mann’s goofy, fun attitude about the film shines through. Funky music from the Sadies and the Flaming Lips help, as does the silly animation uses to port over fungus facts. Most of the film takes place around the Telluride Mushroom Fest, with Larry Evans showcasing some of the mysteries of the fungi, as well as cooking up some recipes to visitors. Mann never puts himself into the film, and we’re grateful for that, since on first sight, people like Larry Evans, who tips at restaurants with some rare mushrooms, and especially Gary Lincoff, come off as odd. I think even at the end of the film, Lincoff is still too “out there”, but Evans pure affection for his field and study of fungi comes off as genuine.

We all know certain mushrooms can cause a person to trip out, and see wild things. This is the least interesting aspect of the film, since if one isn’t tripping on ‘shrooms, hearing stories of it fail to excite. Plus, it’s hard to sell someone who hasn’t taking ‘shrooms to see the appeal, yet alone making yourself not coming off as a drughead. Now, the use of archival public service films, early Alice in Wonderland film footage, and educational films are a blast, mostly for the novelty of them, yet they serve as a silly reminder on our lack of knowledge on fungi, something that makes Larry Evans more compelling as the film’s focus. Mann is something of a cult, arthouse documentarian, with circuit hits like Comic Book Confidential and Grass, and one can snugly fit Know Your Mushrooms into that category.

The DVD:

Audio/Video: One of Docurama’s better releases in this department, features a good looking transfer (despite being interlaced), and a nice sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. Bass heavy on the songs, yet clear for the dialogue, makes this a good sounding disc.

Welcome to the Fungal Jungle: This neat extra was made in 1993, as a doc on how to identify the various types of mushrooms/fungi out there. It’s narrated by Larry Evans and runs 14 minutes. It might be a too stale at times, full of information, it’s a clever inclusion.

Gary Lincoff Lecture: This short piece has Lincoff telling a story at the Telluride Mushroom Festival about mushroom poisoning. He’s too kooky for me.

Mushroom Clubs in North America: This is an interactive listing of the various groups of fungi.

Deleted Scenes,Trailer, and a neat little Trivia Game rounds out the extras.

Conclusion: Better than one would expect, although it is a doc on ‘shrooms, Docurama delivers one of their better DVDs.

The Film: Rating:

The DVD: Rating: