What Is It?

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title: "What Is It?" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["films-directed-by-crispin-glover", "2005-directorial-debut-films", "2005-films", "american-independent-films", "american-avant-garde-and-experimental-films", "2000s-avant-garde-and-experimental-films", "films-about-down-syndrome", "films-about-insects", "2000s-english-language-films", "2005-american-films", "english-language-independent-films", "films-shot-in-16-mm-film"] description: "2005 film by Crispin Glover" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_It?" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 2005 film by Crispin Glover ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]

Field	Value
name	What Is It?
image	Whatisitposter.jpg
caption	Theatrical release poster
director	Crispin Hellion Glover
producer	Crispin Hellion Glover
Matt Devlen
Ryan Page
Mike Pallagi
writer	Crispin Hellion Glover
starring	Crispin Glover
Fairuza Balk
Steven C. Stewart
Michael Blevis
Rikky Wittman
John Insinna
Kelly Swiderski
Lisa Fusco
cinematography	Wyatt Troll
editing	Crispin Hellion Glover
studio	Volcanic Eruptions
distributor	Volcanic Eruptions
released
runtime	72 minutes
country	United States
language	English
::

::callout[type=note] the 2005 film ::

| name = What Is It? | image = Whatisitposter.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Crispin Hellion Glover | producer = Crispin Hellion Glover Matt Devlen Ryan Page Mike Pallagi | writer = Crispin Hellion Glover | starring = Crispin Glover Fairuza Balk Steven C. Stewart Michael Blevis Rikky Wittman John Insinna Kelly Swiderski Lisa Fusco | music = | cinematography = Wyatt Troll | editing = Crispin Hellion Glover | studio = Volcanic Eruptions | distributor = Volcanic Eruptions | released = | runtime = 72 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = What Is It? is a 2005 American surrealist film written, edited, co-produced and directed by Crispin Glover and starring Glover, Steven C. Stewart and the voice of Fairuza Balk.

What Is It? is the first entry in a planned trilogy directed by Glover, followed by It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (2007) and continued with It Is Mine.

Synopsis

The "adventures" of a young man whose principal interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home, who is tormented by a hubristic, racist inner psyche.

Cast

• Michael Blevis as The Young Man
• Rikky Wittman as The Minstrel's Nemisis
• John Insinna as The Young Man's Outer Sanctum Friend / Inner Santum Choking Victim
• Kelly Swiderski as Inner Sanctum Concubine / Outer Sanctum Snail Collector
• Lisa Fusco as The Young Man's Fantasy Girl
• Crispin Glover as Dueling Demi-God Auteur / The Young Man's Inner Psyche
• Steven C. Stewart as Dueling Demi-God Auteur / Young Man's Uber Ego
• Fairuza Balk as Snail (voice)
• Robin Adams as Inner Sanctum Concubine / Outer Sanctum Girl who Recognizes Burning
• Cheryl Brown as Outer Sanctum Mocking Tormentor / Walkie-Talkie Grabbing Woman That Cries Later
• Tom Carroll as Grave Digger / Mocking Tormentor
• Lynn Conley as The Minstrel's Concubine / Mocking Tormentor / Ultimate Outer Sanctum Victor
• Mary P. Hayes as The Young Man's Mother
• Adam Parfrey as The Minstrel

Production

Production of the film started in 1996 as a short film that was to be used as a proof of concept for the as of yet unproduced third film in Glover's It trilogy, It Is Mine. After completing the filming of the initial short, Glover decided to turn it into a feature-length film and filmed an additional eight days over two years. David Lynch, who had directed Glover in Wild at Heart (1990) and Hotel Room (1993), had agreed to executive produce It Is Mine early in its development. However, as revealed in his 2018 autobiography Room to Dream, Lynch was under the impression he had executive produced What Is It?, which Glover credits to a miscommunication they had when he screened a rough cut of What Is It? for Lynch.

Although the edit was picture locked around three years after the initial shoot, post-production lingered on for six more years due to a technical error related to the SMPTE timecode and also because of Glover focusing on the production of the second film of the trilogy, It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (2007), which started filming in 2001 to accommodate the declining health of the film's lead actor and writer, Steven C. Stewart. What Is It? was shot on 16 mm film stock and is usually projected on a 35 mm film print.

The majority of actors who appear in the film have Down syndrome, but Glover has stated they are not necessarily portraying characters with Down Syndrome and the film is not about Down Syndrome. Featuring taboo content and imagery, Glover sees the themes of the film relating to his "psychological reaction to the corporate restraints that have happened in the last 30 or more years in filmmaking. Specifically, in that anything that can possibly make an audience uncomfortable is necessarily excised, or the film will not be corporately funded or distributed."

Release

The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and played at several other film festivals. Aside from this, it has only been shown at independent theatres, typically accompanied by a question-and-answer session, a one-hour dramatic narration of eight different profusely illustrated books as a slideshow, and a meet-and-greet/book signing with Glover.

Reception

The film had received a 50% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10.

References

References

1. [http://sensesofcinema.com/2016/american-extreme/crispin-glover-it-trilogy/ Goodbye, McFly: Crispin Glover’s ‘It’ Trilogy and the Cinema of Reaction·Senses of Cinema]
2. (July 2005). "Glover's 'What Is It?' aptly describes film". The Salt Lake Tribune.
3. [https://archive.org/details/BrowsHeldHighWhatIsItHD Brows Held High What Is It HD - Internet Archive]
4. (October 2, 2015). "Everything is Fine with Crispin Glover".
5. (October 19, 2025). "A Conversation with Crispin Glover (NO! YOU’RE WRONG. or: SPOOKY ACTION AT A DISTANCE".
6. (April 25, 2014). "Interview: Crispin Glover".
7. (December 1, 2006). "Crispin Glover Actor and director of the new film What Is It?".
8. [https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/concessions/Content?oid=484189 Taboo You: Crispin Glover and What Is It?-Film/TV-The Stranger]

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::