Posted: 08/02/2010

Stephen Fry in America

(2008)

by Shannon Huebscher

Stephen Fry in America is a documentary that showcases a six week journey that British actor and comedian Stephen Fry embarks on across the entire United States. In true British fashion, his mode of transportation is his London black taxi cab, which Fry uses to visit each of the 50 states, documenting his journey along the way. Such an adventure could be tackled by any one - journalist or otherwise - but it’s Fry’s insatiable charisma and wit that makes this six hour series pure joy.

Fry divides this series into six sections - “New World”, “Deep South”, “Mississippi”, “Mountains and Plains”, “True West”, and “Pacific”. We meet people from all walks of life - from visiting Ted Turner in his massive ranch in Wyoming to lobster fishing with locals in Maine to learning basket weaving with the Navajo in Arizona; Fry is interested everything and everyone that makes up America.

Even as an American myself, I learned many new things about my own country from this documentary, such as, did you know El Paso in Texas means “The Pass” and was named such because it’s the passageway at the end of the Rocky Mountain range that led westward to California? Little morsels like this are throughout this series.

Stephen Fry will capture your heart in this fantastic documentary, and even better, you might learn a thing or two.

Shannon Huebscher is a freelance writer living in Minneapolis.

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