memfree

Fans of NYC 70s rock, post-Beatles-Lennon, and music from 65-80 in general may well enjoy a good hour of rock nostalgia. As one would expect, there is a plethora of fantastic rock shots and behind-the-scenes bits here and there.

Alas, there comes a point where it starts retreading the same ground and all we hear is a bunch of non-photographers rehash what they think photography means. It feels endless. It should have all been outtakes, but no, it seems someone felt a need to pad this out past the 90 minute mark when they should have been satisfied at 60. They could have even stretched to 70 if the stopped there, but it kept going. Even the photos get recycled so that we see the /same/ picture of LedZep, and the /same/ picture of The Who and on and on.

Still, that first hour was quite enjoyable. New York Dolls, Blondie, fun.

This film needed some combination of the following : a separate director that was NOT starring in the film, sympathetic characters, multi-dimensional characters, less overacting, a bigger budget, more people involved in the creation, and/or FILM source with good image quality. Any of the listed items could be overcome in different circumstances, but here they are all piled on.

I appreciate that the main character was meant to be someone who acts out his own life in overblown, dramatic excess. I appreciate that this character is intentionally not a likable person. Such things are valid and interesting choices to try, but they are challenges that require a LOT of feedback and careful planning to make a film that works. That seemed absent.

Instead, what we have here is a piece which leaves the impression that the actor (and director), Alan Cumming, does not know how to tone it down.

We only see one side of each character, and none seem to progress or change in any meaningful way. And no, changing address or circumstance does not count -- the characters never seem to learn anything.

All the audience gets is nasty people who never get better as they do things we can not care much about, and doing them in a somewhat absurdist way. Yes, there are some amusing scenarios, but all the negatives overwhelm occasional positives.

There are a few other bits of footage of the band, but this is the only rentable film known to exist. Anyone have home movies with synched sound? ... If so, want to make some money? (well, don't look at me, others have deeper pockets).

Yes, there is footage of Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable with VU, but the sound isn't from *that* performance. More accurate is the footage of the band tying up Moe. Like this film (VU & Nico), you actually hear the band members speaking and such in the tie-up-Moe film, but they aren't playing instruments, and there's no Nico.

Therefore, fans simply MUST see this film is all its wandering, unfocused glory. Lay back and let the noise wash you away.