Most mockumentaries tend to expose the lives of people or artists that aren’t terribly talented. Some, like Christopher Guest’s films for example, show artists of various sorts that aren’t so awful (except for Waiting for Guffman that is) and these often succeed better than the others. Both kinds are usually full to the brim with wacky and eccentric characters. Unfortunately for Tim Warner: A Life In the Clouds, it falls into the earlier example and doesn’t really accomplish something in the process.
Warner is a horrible artist responsible for a jokeless comic strip called “The Silver Lining.” It’s a simplistic comic that chronicles the adventures of one man and his dog and cat. Everything in this comic is cheerful and upbeat, full of smiles, kisses, chocolates and sunshine. Ironically, a misanthropic, social degenerate creates this upbeat material. Juxtaposing the images of the comic with footage of the Tim Warner interviews creates an interesting contradiction between product and producer, but it quickly becomes old (and this film is only 37 minutes long).
Tim Warner… is a comedy that fails to cause much laughter and a drama that fails at harvesting any sort of compelling or cathartic resolution. After viewing this film, one thing is certain. The mockumentary genre is one that desperately needs one of two things: resuscitation or a proper burial.
