#19. I Am Nancy - Review
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 6:26PM 
I Am Nancy 2011 PosterA documentary following Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) actress Heather Langenkamp as she attempts to answer her own question of why Freddy Krueger gets all of the fan love and her character Nancy has been forgotten could have been, should have been, a lot of fun. Instead I Am Nancy is a grating excursion into the mind of a has-been, or perhaps a never-was. Langenkamp and director Arlene Marechal travel around the globe attending horror conventions filming the actress’s interactions with fans of the Elm St. franchise. They spend 2-hours interrogating anyone willing to speak on camera, asking them why Freddy is a more popular character than Nancy, and for the most part these interviews are as banal as you would expect. The brief moments actor Robert Englund spends on screen proves that he has more charisma and charm in a single wink than Langenkamp appears to have in her whole body. If there was a point into this investigation for any reason other than Langenkamp’s own insecurity and neediness then it was lost on me, which is disappointing because the base themes do offer several cultural, cinematic, and feminist notions that deserve to be explored by a more capable filmmaker.
Reader Comments (2)
I didn't think this doc was that bad, honestly kinda cute. But I would have loved to see what other heroines are doing in their monster's shadows today, besides bitchin about how much it sucks. "Be Nancy"
Yeah that is my point, it could have been a really interesting look into our culture's obsession with heros but not heroins, or a feminist investigation into the horror genre. But instead it was a selfish grab for attention.