We rarely if ever hear from the mentally and physically disabled segment of our population.  How’s Your News? gives us man-on-the-street news with a group of people from a New Hampshire camp for the disabled, Camp Jabberwocky.  There is a sweetness to the group that is infectious to watch, the joy with which they seem to take in everyday things most people probably don’t even think about.  Their idea of news is refreshing, totally free of any kind of agenda, any angle.  This unassuming nature makes it interesting to watch them interact with people.  One of them, Ronnie Simonsen, is so obsessed with television that when he says his prayers before bed at night, he prays for David Hasselhoff, Suzanne Somers, and all of his favorite stars.  His interviews with people invariably lead to questions about television, and when he finally meets Vince van Patten (Dick’s son), we see that Ronnie is probably the only man alive that can rattle Vince’s entire acting resume off the top of his head.  His main obsession is soap star Chad Everett, who he talks about quite a bit.

But there are a host of personalities on this trip.  The group travels from their camp in New Hampshire, through New England, across the country to California, to Venice Beach, where there are so many unique personalities that they fit right in.  We see a side of America that too often goes unreported: a gator farm in Arkansas, a Nashville honky-tonk, a cattle auction in Texas.  They interview everyone they come across, in their own unique way, and the results are funny and poignant.  The questions they ask are so innocent that they catch their subjects off guard, and it creates an atmosphere that is totally uplifting.

“How grand is the Grand Canyon,” asks Sue when she sees it for the first time.  Ronnie’s first thought is of the trip The Brady Bunch took to the canyon.  Seeing the crew perform the most mundane tasks – checking into a hotel for the night – with more difficulty than most of us could imagine is juxtaposed with the sight of them taking more joy in the simplicity of being alive than most of us could imagine.  And for as oblivious as they seem to be, some of their subjects seem even more out of it.  On Venice Beach, a psychic gives Bob a reading that obviously has nothing to do with him, as if she can’t read enough into him to fake a reading.  And when two tourists start dancing with the cerebral palsy-afflicted Larry while a third man bangs out a rhythm on his chest, intercut with Sue getting a psychedelic guitar solo on the beach – you have to see it, but it is truly a surreal, transcendent moment.  How’s Your News? is one news crew you will remember long after they have signed off.

The film is presented in the original fullscreen format.  The transfer stays true to the original video on which this documentary was originally recorded.  The colors are well represented, and picture is sharp.

How’s Your News? is presented in Dolby Surround sound.  The presentation is crisp, and the sound comes through well from all channels.

The How’s Your News? DVD is loaded with detailed bonus material that gives us much insight into the film.

Audio commentary: director Arthur Bradford, the co-creators and the entire cast talk about making the movie, how it came about, and their feelings at the time.

The original pilot: the rarely seen pilot, financed by executive producers Trey Parker and Matt Stone, follows the HYN crew from Maine to New York City.  This was a trial run for the film.

Footage of festival appearances: festival and concert appearances by the HYN crew.  We see footage of sold out screenings in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam.

IFC show Split Screen:  a look at the camp for disabled adults that HYN crew attended when the idea came about, and a look at the evolution of How’s Your News?

“This American Life” radio featurette: an NPR feature that has an interview with Ronnie Simonsen and Sue Harrington.

Ron meets Chad: at long last, HYN reporter Ronnie Simonsen gets to meet the object of his undying obsession, Chad Everett.

Interview with Matt and Trey: South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are interviewed my HYN reporter Sue Harrington.  They talk about their involvement in the project.

Photo Gallery: pictures of the crew from the road trip.