Cast:
Featuring performers Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Poison [Bobby Dall, C.C. DeVille, Bret Michaels, Rikki Rockett], Aerosmith [Steven Tyler, Joe Perry], Kiss [Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley], Motörhead [Lemmy] alongside musical performances by Lizzy Borden [L. Borden, Gene Allen, Michael Davis, Joey Scott], Faster Pussycat, Seduce, London, Odin [Randy O, Jeff Duncan], and Megadeth [Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson], with Riki Rachtman & Taime Downe, Chris Holmes [W.A.S.P.], and Bill Gazzarri. Directed by Penelope Spheeris (#238 - The Little Rascals, #806 - Wayne's World, #1019 - Dudes, #1657 - The Decline of Western Civilization)
Review:
If you remember correctly, The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) was one of the most engaging music documentaries ever produced involving punk rock, a chaotic affair with hectic personalities (and varying philosophies) that lingers with a viewer after they finish it without becoming a "Greatest Hits" collection. Spheeris would follow this with a group of low-budget work such as Suburbia (1984) and Dudes (1987) before returning with a "Part II" that would cover Los Angeles and a different music scene - heavy metal, inspired by what she saw of streets packed with "long-haired freaks", complete with help in funding by I.R.S. Records that would mean a budget of $500,000, which was roughly five times the budget of the original film. Of course, this is the only one of these films to receive major distribution, because this one was released by New Line Cinema. There are a handful of performers that are interviewed amidst the performances, complete with their choice of how they wanted to be filmed - Gene Simmons for example is filmed at a lingerie store (not tacky to him), while Paul Stanley is filmed in bed with a group of women and Chris Holmes is filmed in a pool with his mother by him while he drinks vodka (well, some of it is vodka, actually the rest is pool water). London was shot in Spheeris' garage, while Osbourne is shot in someone else's house, complete with a "juice pouring scene". Incidentally, the film is credited with showing "glam metal" (i.e. flashy clothing/makeup) right in its peak on the Sunset Strip before the rise of grunge and other assorted metal music; you even get to hear about the "evolution of heavy metal"...from a probation officer alongside hearing from folks in the club scene with degrees of promotion and sleaze (incidentally, Megadeth was apparently a late inclusion done as some sort of serious contrast to the glam metal groups, much to their later disappointment).
In this sense, while one will recognize more faces when it comes to the pursuit of fame, at least one won't lose the perspective of folks that crave for it as well, no matter where the road goes (namely sex, drugs, or rock and roll). Of course, there is also the rampant amount of confidence that you see in varying levels when it comes to just how far one will take their pursuit over all others. Aerosmith, stated by Spheeris as the definitive hard rock band, doesn't perform in the film, but it doesn't mean that they don't have an interesting presence in the interview process, whether when being asked about "groupies", "toxic twins", and the things that come with having plenty of drugs to spare and trying to stay on a wagon of sobriety. Osbourne is about as engaging as one could expect from someone who describes sobriety as something that "sucks" - in short, he is offbeat and engaging to see around from time to time, while Alice Cooper is equally as engaging when depicting the usefulness of metal when it comes to rock-n-roll. Sure, it might amuse you to hear from Simmons, but one will clearly remember Stanley and his casual attitude towards...anything, really. Of course, the most insightful one might be Lemmy, photographed at a distance (he claimed Spheeris did this to try to make him look stupid, but this angle works to his advantage), where he also talks about the fast rebel appeal of heavy metal alongside not hesitating if someone tries to rip him off. It also helps that the film isn't featuring just folks that are already "names", so you can enjoy just how hard belief in oneself really can go when it meets reality. Besides, there is a plethora of interesting music (to me, anyway, but I know some have their opinions on hard metal) that goes as well as the first film did, where it still rings true when combining with the art of self-promotion, such as with Poison. Holmes is undoubtedly the most memorable interview, reflecting on who he is as a hard-drinking rock star that thinks he will be dead in ten years (as it turns out, Holmes became sober in 1996 and has remained so), and it endures as the most striking footage despite Spheeris believing it wasn't useable at first. And then there's the folks who believe they have the potential to do things...like Odin, complete with a guy who thinks they will go as big as Led Zeppelin (incidentally, the lead singer became a teamster trucker and seems fine). The 93 minutes pass on by with a consistent breeze to them, regardless of if one is for the music or interviews. As a whole, one will see plenty of distinct human quirks that come with playing music on a big stage: excess, desperation, overconfidence, crudeness, and so much more. While I think the first film manages to capture a unique scene a bit more clearly than this one, it is still quite easy to approach when it comes to looking upon humanity and music in all the weird places it can go as a piece of late 1980s rock-n-roll with a director interested in where all the pieces fall.
Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.
Next Time: Frida (2002).
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