It's not surprising that Angel Studios would attach its name to writer/director Tanner Christensen's gritty, inspirational feature doc Standout: The Ben Kjar Story. This is the kind of story that Angel loves to tell, though it's rare that they cross the genre line over into doc features. 

This is a wise move on their part. 

Standout tells the real-life story of Ben Kjar, born with Crouzon Syndrome into a large and loving family where his craniofacial differences were a non-issue. Of course, life gets in the way and once one gets out of the shelter of a loving family reality can easily set in. Fortunately, Ben was born into a family that taught him early on that if he was born to standout he ought to use that to his advantage.

He did. 

Having had its world premiere at Slamdance Film Festival in LA, Standout arrived in theaters this week with the folks at Angel Studios behind it. While it would be easy to chalk up Standout as just another inspirational disability film of sorts, the truth is it's an awful lot more and, in fact, likely more of a sports flick than it is centered around Kjar's physical challenges. 

Crouzon Syndrome impacts the development of the skull and facial bones. As a child, Kjar experienced multiple surgeries in an effort to address the condition and relieve pressure on the brain. Unsurprisingly, he was encouraged to avoid contact sports.

Suffice it to say, Ben didn't listen. 

Christensen's approach to telling Kjar's story is somewhat unique and nearly always engaging even if I could have dealt with a lot less in the way of the slo-mo, overly dramatized lensing. These minor distractions, however, weren't nearly enough to diminish my appreciation for Standout and the impact of its charismatic, impossible to ignore lead figure. 

Christensen benefits from the availability of a wealth of archival footage documenting Kjar's life journey and both high school and wrestling footage for the athlete who would become an All-American wrestler. Another unique approach by Christensen involves reenactments, often featuring five-year-old Colton Fielding as a younger Kjar allowing the now adult Kjar to revisit those difficult periods of challenging and bullying. As nearly anyone who is physically different because of their disabilities, myself included, the bullying doesn't end in childhood and some of Standout's most vulnerable and impactful scenes involve Kjar's adult years with love interest LaCol. 

Standout is a rich, engaging documentary that tells a meaningful story and tells it well. While it likely qualifies as an inspirational doc, Christensen does a nice job of keeping it real. As someone who was also just featured in a documentary centered around an athletic pursuit, I've learned firsthand that the bullying never really goes away and at some point shrink away or truly standout. Fortunately for all of us, time and again Kjar has chosen to standout. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic