Metal Reviews

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I enjoyed the movie for what it was: a documentary about a shitty band. This is a very well done movie, but it really made me not like Anvil even more than before. I've had the pleasure of seeing Anvil live on several occasions in small intimate clubs, and while Lipps is a really nice, albeit goofy as hell, guy; his main ambition seems to be becoming famous and becoming a rock star. That stands in stark contrast to the prevailing theme in the movie....that of two guys sticking together all of these years because they like playing the music. Lipps spends a good part of the second half of the film talking about how he wants to be a rock star and make it big......Nikki Sixx is a rock star, Lars Ulrich is a rock star, Mick Jagger is a rock star.....all of these individuals share one thing in common, and that's their rock stardom. The unfortunate consequence of being a rock star, at least for the above named individuals, is that they stopped caring about the music and essentially spent their time wallowing in their fame. I can't understand why Lipps would want to be like any of those guys.

That's all. I just thought the whole rock star bit was absolute crap. Though I don't like Anvil's music at all, and the whole rock star thing bugs me, their story is a really uplifting one. They've had the right idea the whole time....that is, prior to the making of this movie. Now they're all about the money it seems. My myspace page is constantly blowing up with advertisements from Robb Reiner telling me to buy Anvil shit or go to Anvil shows, etc, etc. I liked them better when no one knew about them. Their authenticity wasnt at stake them.

Right or wrong, that's how I feel about the whole Anvil resurgence. On another note, I say I'm glad they get to realize their dreams, however misguided and stupid those dreams may seem to me.

I dont think Lipps motives are misguided, the guys have been around for 20 something years doing what they like and not being able to make a living out of it, they got crappy jobs and tons of debts, dont you think its normal that they want to be succesful? if their intention was to sell out and make tons of money by playing whatever the record company tells them to play i think they could have done this already, what i see on the documentary is Lipps overcoming his frustrations of not being succesful by realizing he is doing what he loves the most which is playing Metal, there is a part on the documentary were lips says something like this: "even if the album doesnt sell it would still be a success because its the best album i've ever recorded".

Also, dont take this whole rock star thing to seriously his deffinition of rock star could just means succes to him and not selling out, but i dont know maybe im just being naive.

I think this is a very good documentary, it was obviously very well edited in order to make the viewer feel sorry for the band, but i still think it shows a part of Metal that not many people realize; that most of the metal bands dont make a living out of it and the fact that they're still doing it, shows how passionate they are about their music.

Yeah H_T I think you and Lips just have a different definitions of what 'rock star' means. From what I took away from the film they'd have been happy to just be able to release albums, do proper tours and make enough money so that they didn't need other jobs outside the music.

The film was quite cunningly edited - especially the ending which was somehow supposed to make you think because they had played to a big crowd in Japan it would somehow All Work Out Ok - but certainly an eye-opening experience.

The thing that I took away most was the ridiculous ineptness that seems to have been holding them back all these years - after all, they've spent plenty of time on decent-sized labels like Massacre, all they needed was some competent management to get them decent touring opportunities. Supporting Saxon like they're doing this year is the sort of thing a band of their profile should have been doing for years.

It is amazing that they have lasted this long considering how bleak the future always looked for them. But I don't attribute their lack of success to ineptness, I attribute it to the fact that they were never a really good band. Yes they were considered to be at the forefront of the 80's metal movement, but they were by far the crappiest band.

But back to the topic. Great film. I laughed. I cried. I still don't like Anvil. So I am happy for them that they get their fifteen minutes of fame, but the music speaks for itself, and they will fade away again because their music is just not that good.

This sounds like good times and I will watch it if I can find a copy.

Thank you all for your comments, they are most interesting and consistent, exactly what every reviewer could wish for.

Just to sumarize a bit. I don't necessarily consider Anvil a shitty band, nor does the movie go too deep into their music. They are what they are and after having browsed the Internet for reviews of "This is Thirteed" I can safely say that 1) this is the kind of album that provokes strong love/hate feelings and 2) many wouldn't have bothered with it if it weren't for the movie. But time will eventually tell, nevertheless the whole point of the movie is not about the music per se but about the bands endeavors in a very well defined context (job, family, personal history etc.).

I don't think either that the movie tried to make the viewer feel sorry for the band. It tried - and succeeded brilliantly - to create empathy, but that's miles away from "feeling sorry". That's what some commercials for aid programs try to provoke - that, shame and guilt, a killer mix - but not this movie. My argument against the feeling sorry thing is precisely what I said in the review when I spoke about the respectful way in which the protagonists and their families are depicted.

Lips may be a goofy guy, but on the screen he's a fascinating character.