Bay Area/ San Francisco
Published on January 30, 2011
Documentary About Bickering Lower Haight Neighbors Hits Sundanceshutuplittlemanfilm.com
A film about two combative roommates who lived on Steiner Street in the late 1980s premiered this week at the Sundance Film Festival.

The documentary, dubbed "Shut Up Little Man!", focuses on Peter and Ray, described as a "flamboyant gay man" and a "raging homophobe," respectively, who lived together at 237 Steiner Street, between Haight and Waller. Peter and Ray would have frequent, alcohol-fueled arguments, much to the dismay of their neighbors Eddie and Mitch, pictured above. The fights were so ridiculous, Eddie and Mitch decided to record them by dangling a microphone from their kitchen window. They captured 18 months' worth of the altercations, resulting in a tape known as "Shut Up Little Man!" after one of the recordings' more frequent pieces of dialogue. The tape soon became an underground sensation, inspiring comic books, music, and stage plays, and changing Eddie and Mitch's lives forever. "Shut Up Little Man!" received positive reviews at Sundance this week, with Variety calling it "alternately hilarious and discomfiting, and finally rather poignant," and the Sydney Morning Herald dubbing it "a hoot, and super smart to boot." Assuming you didn't go to Sundance, we're not sure if you'll ever get to see "Shut Up Little Man!", but here are a couple of trailers to wet your voyeuristic whistle. (Caution: salty language!)