The Outdoorsmen is a special kind of film in that it is completely unique. It is developed as a documentary, yet plays out like an episode of “World's Strongest Man”, with plenty of beer, of course. Scott Allen Perry's film displays a group of men, who, while certainly getting older, find the time to spend one weekend of the year amongst their friends, perhaps simply for the fun of it, perhaps because it has become a tradition, or perhaps they are trying to reclaim that little bit of youthful vigour they once had, which may have been lost within the responsibilities they've accepted within their lives.

The weekend consists of beer drinking, and something of a drunken series of Olympic events which range from something as simple as an egg toss, to piggy back riding, to tire throwing. There are many more events, I believe something to the like of 16 separate events, nearly all of which involve the contestants (grouped into teams of two) pounding back a beer or two. For those of you who aren't unfamiliar with the delicate art of beer chugging, you can certainly understand that it is an underappreciated skill, which over time, can force even the strongest stomach to turn over, forcing everything back out through the drinkers mouth. It is you who can sympathize with these men, as the camera makes no effort to shy away from the men vomiting time and again.

The film certainly has more credibility than watching a number of drunken men damaging their bodies and livers through a series of physical challenges. Each of the men is established early on, as we are given background on each, and surprisingly they all seem like very nice people. The establishment of these people is both sympathetic and humorous, yet never seems out of place, in fact it seems right at home and doesn't effect the films momentum in the least.

The Outdoorsmen is at times hilarious, at times a little gross, but it is surprisingly interesting. It's a lot of fun, and while two thirds of the film are dedicated to the events themselves, we never forget that the film is about the men themselves, and the one weekend of the year which they can distance themselves from their 9 to 5 jobs, abandon all responsibilities, and have fun.

As a side-note, however, if the film was about nothing more than a group of grown men drinking obscene amounts of beer, then, well… what's wrong with that? Over a 36 hour period each of these men will drink between 40 and 50 cans of beer. I think there's something to respect in that, as that is no easy feat. If I drank half of those over the course of a week, my liver would seize, and I would probably die. By that regard I have no choice but to respect the film on two separate levels. One, on its merits as a (somewhat) serious documentary about the recapturing of youth and male bonding. The other, on the enjoyment I get in seeing average people doing something I could never accomplish, without risking serious illness.