Class Action Park

Being the same age as the guy who did a lot of the talking, I do remember those "good ole days" (mine were spent at Six Flags personally) but I felt that they spent a lot of time kind of glorifying the owner who seemed like a total tool! There is nothing awesome about being a sneaky prick who doesn't care if people died. Scrapes and "the orange spray" I can ride with that. Missing teeth, drowning, concussions, electrocution, drowning...no. That should not be happening and should not be a something that you should expect when you go to have fun. Like why? I didn't know who Gene was until today and I am just so glad I've never met anyone like him. I don't think I'd even be honored to be related to the guy! Yeah he was innovative and a risk taker, but do that shiz without risking people's lives! That is nothing to be proud of At ALL! I enjoyed it for what it was, but I am unsettled. To me he is a serial killer in disguise.

This was a really interesting one. The topic was like a gold mine, but the way the doc was set up was tacky. I really feel bad for the mom featured. This was basically the justice she gets after the newspapers took Gene's side. Instead her story was sandwiched by people relishing in the nostalgia. For a doc called "Class Action Park" they barely focused on the lawsuits and deaths. Just kinda amateur all in all.

"Class Action Park is a true Crime Story" give or take a direct quote from the trailer for this documentary. Now I don't know how I was supposed to be left feeling after viewing this. Some will be filled with anger towards the park and park director and what follows. But I also think this glorified the park and most will be filled with nostalgia and a eagerness to go to Action Park even if that is impossible in this age. The latter is how I felt. I felt that the negatives were even somewhat talked about in a positive way. 80% of the time everyone was smiling and happy even in the sad parts. Might have just been me though but sign me up for a season pass. If you want to learn about Action Park watch this but you aren't missing anything.

I liked this documentary but the commentary from Chris Gethard was utterly obnoxious and distracting with his over the top storytelling and constant use of f bombs, it was driving me up a wall. I do agree with others that it is kind of an unusual way in which they have portrayed the park. It seems like a total nostalgic throwback about how cool the park was and how crazy it was that a bunch of kids ran it and how things were out of control but less about the actual tragic incidences at the park. One mother spoke about losing her son and how Gene is an awful person but that was really the extent of that. The documentary otherwise was about the staff experience. Still enjoyed it but not necessarily what I expected.

Back in 1990, I was taking a bunch of summer camp kids on a day trip to Action Park. Being from the UK, I'd never heard of the place or even the concept of a waterpark. It didn't take me long to discover that Action Park was possibly the greatest amusement park on the planet. I was so in love with it that at the end of summer camp, I drove back down there and landed a job as a lifeguard, which by all accounts wasn't a difficult feat.

So, yes, this documentary was an immense nostalgia trip for me and when I heard rumors and later saw early previews, I became incredibly excited for the release. My only fear was that it would disappoint and fall flat, as these things so often do after you've built them up in your mind and romanticized the memories.

Fortunately, my fears were completely unfounded. This documentary absolutely nails it, from the content to the commentary, from the crazy risk of the rides to the ultimate reward of immeasureable fun. Chris Gethard provides a fun, familiar and accurate historical narrative blended with contemporary perspective, which asks in hindsight, how this was allowed to go on for so long!? Other talking heads with first hand experience enrich the story with extraordinary tales of their own. And there's plenty of archive video footage to send you right back to the 80s and 90s.

If you weren't "lucky" enough to be embedded in this wacky world, you'd be forgiven for thinking a pinch of salt is required when listening to some of the anecdotes but from my own time working at the resort over the course of several seasons, I can testify to the complete credibility of the Action Park story as presented here. Working on the Tarzan swing, I'd need to rescue ten or more kids a day who despite the warnings, "the water is ice cold... if you're not an excellent swimmer, do not attempt this ride", would happily risk death and launch themselves into the abyss. Then there were the others who were too scared to let go and would swing back into the platform.

My favorite quote that sums up the entire film is "this was the last decade of unsupervised fun for kids". There is inevitable tragedy in this account of a legendary waterpark that simply couldn't exist in given today's standards for safety. For a "survivor" like myself, it raises the philosophical question, "Sure, we live in a safer world but at what cost"?