"I had a bottle of vodka, or he had a bottle of vodka, but anyway, we were drinking vodka."

I thought this post was going to be part of the one immediately below, because for whatever reason I'm always mixing up directors Mike Mills and Chris Smith. Mills is the one in the post below, and Smith made American Movie, one of my favorite documentaries. If you don't know it, it follows Wisconsin filmmaker Mark Borchardt as he tries to complete a shoestring-budget horror movie called Coven. Mark is often joined by his good friend, a musician named Mike Schank. One of the great things about the movie is that you genuinely like Mark and Mike even when you're laughing at them. And yes, you laugh at them. A lot. Here's a gallery of moments featuring Mike. It's well worth watching the whole thing:



And while I'd hate for you to watch this next clip if you haven't seen the movie yet, I have to add it, because it was probably the hardest I've ever laughed in a theater. Just imagine having met the Mike above throughout the movie -- the gentle, quiet, goofy, droopy-eyed Mike -- and then coming to this scene where Mark enlists him to record something for Coven. (Warning: This is loud.)