Every once in a while, in the unpredictable realm of DVD reviewing, a modest film appears from out of nowhere and turns out to be something pretty special. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it serves as a reminder that some of the most interesting films are those that come from places you'd never expect. Such a film is Off the Charts: The Song Poem Story, an unexpectedly hilarious look at a not-often-thought-about musical subculture.

Have you ever glimpsed one of those advertisements at the back of writing or music magazines that offer you the opportunity to send in your poetry—for a fee—to be recorded as a song? The concept of song poetry, it turns out, has been around for years, and people across the nation with no chance in hell of ever seeing an actual recording contract have been taking advantage of these services, just to have their voices heard. Off the Charts takes a look at some of these interesting people, and the result is a collection of offbeat profiles that are by turns extremely funny, cringingly pathetic, and even heartbreaking.

The subjects of this documentary provide several points of view on the song poem industry. You get the production angle, the actual companies—some might say rip-off artists—who advertise these services and produce your record. You even get collectors of song-poem records, aficionados of the little-known industry who are always on the lookout for the strange and unique. But probably the most fascinating and humorous portions of the film focus on three or four actual song poets, and these poor people range from the delusional to the insane. Director Jamie Meltzer focuses his camera on these subjects with some degree of objectivity, but mostly, they're just there for us to behold, with jaws dropped, and we can't help but laugh at their earnest hopelessness. You will not believe the mind sets of these individuals and the bizarre lyrics they've come up with. Some of these song poems have come from admitted drug-induced delirium, but most have their origins merely in simple minds.

But the crazy greatness of Off the Charts occurs toward the end, when one of the film's song poets strikes off on his own, on a music tour with his son. At a tiny, improvised outdoor music venue, the duo takes to a makeshift stage and performs for an audience of nonplussed Americans. You can't help but feel a welling-up of real emotion for the fact that they're horrible but they're putting their hearts into it, and laying it all out for everyone to see. You watch with a deep and aching sense of empathy. But then you just laugh.

Shout Factory presents Off the Charts in a not-bad full-frame presentation of the film's original 1.33:1 PBS presentation. This transfer isn't going to win any awards, but its detail and clarity are suitable to the subject matter. Shot on 16mm film, the documentary has a low-rent look, but that's part of its charm. Colors are accurate if a bit washed out. I did notice some aliasing.

The sound presentation is equally modest, merely getting the job done.

The chief special feature is a Commentary with the Director and Producer. They provide an engaging discussion of the origins and making of the film, and you can tell that the director has genuine respect for the song poets that he's profiled. There's nary a dead spot here over the entire hour-long presentation.

Next is the Sunburst Studio Sessions, which shows the full recording sessions of 6 songs over 17 minutes. Funny stuff.

The Deleted Scenes amount to 12 minutes of material that could be considered scene extensions, mostly of one of the song-poem singers.

Iowa Mountain Tour, Live! presents the entire performance of that father-son duo I mentioned. This is heartbreaking stuff but also cringingly hilarious.

You also get to enjoy the Off the Charts Premiere Party, 7 minutes of ugly-looking footage of some of these people performing at a festival.

Next is Columbine Records Presents "America Sings," a strange 24-minute piece that just baffled me.

Finally, you get a Song Poem Ad Gallery Tour, a 4-minute look at some advertising, complete with commentary.

Off the Charts is a surprising treat, and the extras are fun. Image and sound are merely okay, but I wasn't expecting fireworks in those departments. This one's definitely worth watching.