Off on a big, hairy quest

By Robert K. Elder, TRIBUNE REPORTER
20 February 2009
Chicago Tribune
Copyright 2009, Chicago Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

In "Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie," the elusive hairy creatures are the least interesting characters.

Rather, filmmaker Jay Delaney focuses on two eccentric Bigfoot researchers, Dallas and Wayne, friends from impoverished rural Ohio.

Although there are blurry shots of what could be a Midwestern Yeti, the doc isn't primarily concerned whether Bigfoot is real.

"What really interested me were these two people," says Delaney, an Ohio native and current Edgewater resident. "It's a real reflection of who they are and how they see themselves."

That's not to say Delaney himself wasn't caught up in the Bigfoot hunting.
"I'm not a believer or a disbeliever, but there were some times when we heard some interesting sounds," he says. "What was so interesting to me was that they believed."
But what makes people want to believe?

"That's one of the ongoing mysteries to me," says Delaney. "I think there's an element of it that's almost like this childhood dream ... that childhood desire to believe in things -- desire for something greater and bigger than ourselves."
Delaney sees Dallas and Wayne as heroes.

"For me, they are actually inspiring people because they could have given up on life and sat home and watched TV," he says. "But instead, they are out there, trying to do something."

Screens Saturday and Monday at the Gene Siskel Film Center. See review in Other Venues.