I love mockumentaries. But it does help when they have a clear goal in mind- a subtext giving you hints about what exactly is being revealed about the events they purport to shine a light on. Of course if all they want to do is offer a zany spoof then fine. But when a mockumentary film falls through the crack, doesn't explain itself, or offer scads of big laughs then it generally fails to find an audience. Not so for Ski Jumping Pairs which was wildly popular in it's homeland.
Can a comedy take itself too seriously? The danger of mockumentaries is just that. One has to have the sense of being immersed in the zany but Ski Jumping Pairs opts for an almost fairytale approach gently prodding it's viewers with ridiculous understatement. Does it work? The main complaint I've heard about the film is that it's boring. I would argue that's it's too interesting to be boring. The film, unlike many mockumentaries, tells a compelling story but audiences used to fare like Best in Show or Spinal Tap could easily miss that.
We follow a physicist Professor Harada who, after encounters with Frozen Treats, a childhood tragedy involving his twin sons and immersion in the study of the mysterious Rendezvous Theory concocts a new sport that revolutionizes the world of competitive skiing. Through tragedy and triumph the Harada family marches on towards the legitimization of their creation by the Olympic committee.
Ski Jumping Pairs is more unusual than great but it does have moments of warmth and humor and may even make you laugh out loud. I did. But I also thought this film spent too much time delving into the science of it's nonexistent sport. Problematic as well are the pair skiing sequences, which are shown using the lowest grade possible CGI- clearly the result of budget limitations but jarring for viewers who are used to films like Battlefield Baseball or Shaolin Soccer. One wishes to see what this director could do with a better script and bigger resources.