CLASS ACTION PARK (2020) - mini review
A fun, little documentary marked by it's Covid release.
From the vault: I rewatched ACTION PARK and this rocks! Had to find my old review for it. Funny to think about one’s writing, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Enjoy!
originally published in 2020.
Are you bummed out about the current state of outdoor recreation? Are you shuttering at the thought of an excruciatingly slow pandemic recovery?
Are you sitting out on your tiny veranda, listening to the neighbor’s kids bicker loudly for the 7th time that week, wondering if we’ll regain any semblance of normalcy? Well, maybe CLASS ACTION PARK is for you.
Or it could be, just maybe, you need yet another excuse to neglect the real world with DIGITAL CONTENT, and figured that a documentary about poorly-run amusement parks would do the trick. This is for you, too.
CLASS ACTION PARK regales us with tales from a simpler time. A time before stringent regulations when men were men, and terms like “liability”and “accountability” registered like leaves rustling in wind.
The subject of the documentary is the aptly named, Action Park, a water amusement ground that operated out of Vernon Township, New Jersey form the 70's-90's. The park has garnered a shady reputation among the locals for having a more-than spotty safety record and blatant disregard amongst it's mostly teenage staff for the general safety of its guests
The first half features interviews with a mixture of patrons and employees reminiscing on the more dangerous aspects of Action Park. From poorly-constructed rides, to inadequate medical equipment, to nefarious off-shore banking schemes, the subjects do a good job of establishing scenes in a lively manner.
The second half of the documentary centers on it’s creator, Eugene Mulvihill, a larger-than-life entrepreneur with a shady background in the New-York stock exchange. It's a genuinely fascinating profile welcomed in a time when everyone and their grandmother appears to be getting a documentary dedicated to them.
CLASS ACTION PARK moves at a brisk pace and is engaging throughout. My main issues stem from the cartoon visuals that are interspersed throughout—a little too amateur, too distracting, and not in thematic sync with the 80’s retro aesthetic that permeates the home video footage.
All in all, this is a fun, little documentary with a well-weathered structure that may limit it’s appeal past the cultural moment, but is effective none the less.