VFG Review: Mad City Chickens

All four of us sat down over the weekend to watch my new acquisition: Mad City Chickens. I was excited to see a regionally-produced documentary about the backyard chicken movement.

Those familiar with this site know that we now have chickens on The Farm and know that I’ve been designing backyard coops (in my mind) for months.

My reaction to the film? It’s mixed. I thought parts of it were excellent. Great stories and very nicely produced interviews. But part of it was hokey and choppy and off putting.

I get that there are some quirky personalities in the locavore movement, particularly the modern backyard chicken pioneers. But the narration was distracting. I could have done without that and would have appreciated more solid information.

I also didn’t quite get the ethnic-centered interviews. I actually expected that point to come full circle, to explain that communities are facing increasing pressure from ethnic communities where backyard chickens are the norm. But that point wasn’t really made. Indeed, I’m not sure what the point was of the interview with the French woman. That people who raise chickens start to look like chickens? Come on.

The filmmakers seemed to use every production technique at their disposal, kind of like some Web designers I know who get so carried away with Flash and widgets that the key content is buried.

It was worth it, for me, to hear some very entertaining stories. My 6-year-old son couldn’t be bothered to sit through the whole thing. But my 5-year-old daughter was with us the whole way and was especially giddy watching a chicken on a swing and, like us, thrilled to follow the story of Consuela.

My husband, who hasn’t, like me, mentally built the backyard chicken run, says he learned a lot.

So…

If you’re in the Madison area and you want to relive some milestones of the backyard chicken movement, it’s a must see.

If you want to learn more about eating local, buy Food Fight! And to see a more educational, yet quirky and highly entertaining documentary, get King Corn.