Hey, folks. Capone in Chicago here.
Straight out of the gate, let me say that my interest in metal music is minimal at best, and my awareness of the Canadian metal group Anvil was nil. That said, this documentary from director Sacha Gervasi that traces the band once on the precipice of megastardom through some of their roughest moments over nearly 30 years together is one of the single greatest docs about music ever made. What's even more incredible is that I'm about the billionth person on the planet to say as much about this movie since its premiere at Sundance 2008. I'm not exactly sure what it is about this film that taps into something so wholly universal. This isn't just a movie about music; it's about following one's dreams no matter how unlikely it seems you will ever achieve them.
A lot of people have called ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL (the group and the movie) the real-life version of the band Spinal Tap, but to me this story is eerily similar to that of the filmmaker Mark Borchardt from the AMERICAN MOVIE doc. Both Borchardt and Anvil's two core members, Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner (no relation to the man who directed THIS IS SPINAL TAP), live in extremely cold climates, hold menial jobs that pay shit, and are amounting debt that they will likely have until they die. But their in something in their fiber that drives them to finish what they started. And when Lips and Reiner met when they were only 14 (they are both in their early 50s today), they made a pact to rock until they dropped. A few of their early albums released in the 1980s were highly influential, if you believe the testimonials from the likes of Slash, Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Lemmy from Motorhead, Scott Ian of Anthrax and many others. Their influence on a generation of metal mainstays is well documented, but for reasons no one ever quite has figured out, their own success never translated into million-selling albums or stadium tours of the world.
Kudlow and Reiner are the classic coulda-been/shoulda-been guys, and they grasp onto any small thread of hope at reviving their careers. When the opportunity to tour Europe comes their way, they leap at the chance. Some of the gigs are tightly packed, near-sold-out events, but occasionally they are met with a handful of fans thanks to poor promotion on the part of either their own management or the club owners. In Spinal Tap, these moments are amusing; in ANVIL!, they are downright tragic. The never-ending string of disappointments causes a great deal of friction between Lips and the band, with some painfully heated exchanges between the singer and Reiner, who is like a brother to him. Their arguments often result in the film's most heartfelt moments, and don't be surprised if you shed a tear or two watching Anvil! You can't help but become emotionally invested in these men and their relationships.
Along their journey, we get to meet the band's families, their wives and kids, and their most devoted fans, who the band at one point turn to for help earning money in particularly lean times. Meeting these fine folks provides the much-needed perspective to make these two men seem less like guys who just don't know when to quit and more like passionate keepers of the metal flame.
Lips and Reiner seem convinced that getting back in the studio with legendary producer Chris Tsangarides (who produced their three most successful albums) will somehow result in an album that will bring them back to the forefront. At this point in the film, director Gervasi almost dares us not to conjure SPINAL TAP in our minds. Anvil's lyrics are a combination of mysticism, dark arts, and sexual prowess. Tsangarides has recording equipment with dials that do, in fact, go up to 11; and since the band is recording in Dover, they have no choice but to make the long trip to Stonehenge. The experience seems to rejuvenate the band.
What's particularly strange about watching ANVIL! is that you come to realize that the very existence of this movie is the unofficial next chapter in the band's life. They haven't been this popular and in the public eye since the early 1980s, and the overwhelming critical success of the film make give the band an audience it never could have imagined... or not. That is the true nature of the beast. However things work out for these fine lads from Canada, the simple fact is you will be hard pressed to find a documentary as wholly entertaining as ANVIL! in 2009.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
