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From: blp
Category: Films
Date: 24 December 2005
Being primarily the story of Anton Newcombe, the greatest rock star that never was, troubled lead singer of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and friend and mentor to the infinitely more successful Dandy Warhols. Pay no attention to lazy pundits who say it's the real Spinal Tap or the funniest thing since Spinal Tap. It's not, it's a tragedy, one with no catharsis or apparent prospect of one, if that's not a contradiction in terms. Still, viewers with slightly less pronounced tendencies to fucking up may learn somethign about unconscious self sabotage watching Newcombe turn the industry showcase that might have got his band a lucrative record deal into a brawl or descend into heroin addiction when he finally gets a chance to make a record for a big(ish) label. He's a fascinating, articulate, charismatic character and his band are a group of essentially lovely guys who, for some reason, can't stop having fistfights and kicking each other in the head (literally) and the whole spectacle is incredible, eye-popping and intensely, terribly sad - as well as being beautifully shot and constructed with great care and intelligence by director Ondi Timoner. A great, great documentary.
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