Identity theft is a nightmare for those it happens to. But what if you're a semi-famous musician who discovers someone (or someones) has been impersonating you to your fans, leading them to believe they have been Close Personal Friends with you? This is the situation Tegan Quin - half of the musical group Tegan & Sara (probably mostly known to Normies who've even heard of them as "those identical twin lesbians") - found herself in over a decade ago and now recounted in the sparse documentary, Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan & Sara.
Opening with a quick recap of their career, starting as 18-year-olds in Calgary, Alberta, Canuckia, their early adoption of social media and close bonds with their fans - coming out to greet them outside venues in line, going to the merch table after the show, posing for all the photos requested - also laid the foundation for who (or whoms, plural, it develops) became know as "Fake Tegan" or "Fegan" to begin building years-long relationships with fans, leading them to believe they were actually pals with Tegan.
This erupted in 2011 when Fegan sent a fan named Julie a link to a drive containing their passport photos, info about their band members, and very personal details like their mother battling breast cancer. Sensing something off about this escalation, Julie contacted their management and was told in reply Tegan had no idea who Julie was. As management put the word out to fan boards that anyone interacting with Fegan was being had, more reports of fans having been suckered by the catfisher came in, some even believing they were in line for some up close & personal happy fun times with Tegan, if you follow.
The distress over this hit the fans hard, leaving them embarrassed or hurt, especially a Vancouver musician named JT who lashed out publicly against Tegan (the real one), whom she'd had a real world friendship, after feeling dissed by Fegan. But on the band's side, the question of how tightly secured song demos and items like the passport photos got released led to paranoia about their friends and employees. Who was using their access to then harm the fans. While no one lost money, they lost more: Their sense of privacy, trust, and security. Some said they couldn't listen to T&S's music anymore because of the feelings of betrayal or embarrassment.
So, who was this perpetrator? Well, that's the problem because Fanatical never finds out. Several suspects were identified, including a woman named "Tara" located in Maine who the director, Erin Lee Carr (Britney vs. Spears), traveled to interview only to get stood up. Ultimately, Tara takes a conference call with Carr and Tegan where she denies being Fegan, but is actually another hurt fan who only reached out to others to have her feelings validated. In a post-call discussion, Carr and Tegan decide to believe her.
With no resolution, Fanatical overall lacks much of a purpose. Many of the incidents occurred over a decade ago and even Tegan had relegated the experience to background noise. They had never publicized it during its peak, so what's the benefit of dredging it up now when there is no resolution other than a long therapy session for her and the fans whom she communicates over Zoom calls? The reunion of JT and her is poignant, but the imbalance of their statuses hangs over the meeting.
The line between being a really big fan and a danger to the objects of their adoration is touched on. They had to stop mingling with fans before or after the show, resorting to VIP meet & greets where they know who's coming in. "The barricades and security are there for a reason. We've had people rush the stage and bearhug us." and these are just fans wanting to show their love, not dangerous psychos like the lunatic who assassinated Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell on stage at a Damageplan gig. But the added level of invasion of privacy with these catfishings must suck even more of the joy out of the art.
Without a resolution and so far removed from events discussed, Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan & Sara ends up feeling like a video of Tegan's group therapy sessions with those who were deceived.
Score: 5/10. Skip it.
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