REN FAIRE – A Review by Jenn Rohm
I do enjoy looking back over different times in my life and like many from the area, I have a Renaissance Faire period. Many spring weekends were spent at the “local” festival that just ended its season over the holiday weekend. Some of the people I would spend time with would make 1 or 2 pilgrimages to The Texas Renaissance Faire (TRF) in what is now Todd Mission, Texas.
“HBO Documentary Films presents REN FAIRE, a production of Elara Pictures; in association with To Be Formed and Widow’s Peak. Directed by Lance Oppenheim; co-created by Oppenheim & David Gauvey Herbert; executive produced by Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Dani Bernfeld, Lance Oppenheim, and David Gauvey Herbert. Co-executive produced by Abigail Rowe, Christian Vazquez & Max Allman. For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Sara Rodriguez.”
George Coulam (and his brother David) started the Texas Renaissance Festival in 1974, he has since incorporated the town around the festival grounds and is the mayor. He is a very wealthy man and the majority shareholder of the festival. At age 86 he is ready to give up ruling the kingdom to enjoy the company, of a yet-to-be-determined woman between the age of 20-50 and spend time garden. Across three episodes we will meet the three contenders, the current general manager, a kettle-corn vendor kingpin, and a former elephant trainer. We will also go along with George on a date and find out who George does trust. (You will also learn what he hopes to be doing when he dies.)
This is a project with HBO Documentary behind it, but that does not mean that everything is 100% factual. There is some fantasy and reenacting that occurs. This is a choice that was made by Oppenheim. Apparently, real life is not always fascinating enough without some behind-the-scenes manipulation. In other words, take the show with a grain of salt and do not judge others involved in the faire world based on this series.
The footage of TRF itself brought back memories, certain shoots have some very specific memories tied to them. To those who are no longer with us, I miss you. To those who I may not connect with regularly, thank you for the memories. For those I am in contact with, let’s catch up after you watch. For those of you who do not know me I say grab a turkey leg, a steak on a stick, some scotch eggs and a mug of mead then sit back and enjoy in air conditioning. Corsets are optional.
Director: Lance Oppenheim
Written By: Max Allman, Nicholas Nazmi, Lance Oppenheim
Cast: Jeffrey Baldwin, George Coulam, Darla Smith
MPAA Rating: TV-14
Genres: Documentary
Selig Rating: 3 Stars
Runtime: 50 – 60 minute each episode
Release Date: First episode airs June 2, 2024, with the second and third episodes available June 9, 2024
Stream: Max
Trailer: Ren Faire Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
