Quest of the Muscle Nerd

Title: Quest of the Muscle Nerd
Director: Jared Young, Matthew Young
Released: 2019

Plot: Jerry Peacock is a nerd with a dream of bringing the worlds of fitness and nerdom together with a Cosplay bodybuilding contest at Dragoncon. But can these two world often opposed to each other really be blended?

Review: Jerry Peacock is a self proclaimed nerd aswell as a bodybuilding enthusiast who believes that the two world can be blended despite the idea of nerds and fitness hardly being two word ever mentioned in the same sentence. More so when one is seen as the refuge of the uncool kids and loners while the other thanks to the high school experience seeing fitness being a world dominated by the jocks.

Directed by brothers Jared and Matthew Young who previously directed the dance studio documentary Untapped Together aswell as the Kids Christianity movie Zack’s Zap Pack. Here though they tap into what can be assumed to be one of the more obscure sub-groups of Geek culture which is no easy feat when geek culture is one of the more popular documentary topics like zombie movies for indie film makers. What they present here though is a genuinely heart warming and touching documentary which asks the intreging question as to why you can’t be into fitness and a nerd.

Determined to prove that the two shouldn’t be separate worlds the film follows Jerry as he sets out with the initial goal to hold a cosplay bodybuilding contest at Dragoncon which is met with scepticism by the event organisers who agree to him putting on an exhibition showcase as a trial which will pit his friend and lifelong Pokemon fan William Davis against Jonathan Carrol who has not only competed in professional bodybuilding competitions but also played both Captain America and Wolverine on the Youtube series Superhero Beatdown. Two men both impressive in stature but also in their nerdy obsessions.

One of the nice aspects to the film is that everyone featured is as enthusiastic as their own nerdy pursuits as they are about bodybuilding which not only showcases a suprising range of bodybuilding tie-in’s with things like Pokemon like the bulked up Gengar on Jonathan’s workout gear under the heading of “Gain-gar”. We also get to watch William enthusiastically playing Pokemon Go which credit to the directors they really go all out to make observing people playing the game (frantically tapping their phone screen) with every visual trick and flashy cuts they can cram into the scene.

Another intresting aspect of the film is the lack of any attempt to villianise either of the competitors, unless you want to hold Jonathan’s confidence or the fact he can afford a $3,000 custom made costume compared to William who has his costume made by Jerry’s Mom who is just a delight every time she’s on the screen, much less keeping burly bodybuilders in line.

Like any good documentary the young brothers here manage to take a subject that most people won’t typically know much about and turn it into a film which as informative as it engaging, much less genuinely touching in places with the final showdown between the two competitors genuinely proving to be to a gripping spectacle with the results actually having me on the edge of my seat.

A fun and touching documentary which provides a fascinating insight into a new sub-genre of nerd culture with the film certainly arguing the case for it’s place within the culture.