Caught New York Doll last night. Quite beautiful. Before I ever heard of the movie I had heard a lot about the New York Dolls. I knew they were practically transvestites, the lead singer became the Buster Poindexter alter-ego and that just about every early punk and new wave band that I respected directly cited the Dolls as a very important influence. They were so mythical that I never even heard a Dolls song before the movie. By the time I heard about the movie I had no idea that one of the members became a Mormon. The thought of that was absurd. Whenever I put on make-up and womens' clothes I think about how un-Mormon I'm being. Strangely, the movie sorts every conflict between piousness and rock 'n roll. Although mentioned, the hedonistic excess of the rock lifestyle aren't emphasized. Our hero wants to return to that world not because he misses the drugs and sex, but for serious spiritual reasons. He again wanted to bring happiness and make life better for those around him and he knew he had a great talent doing that as an entertainer. All the Dolls seemed to have this ideal. More importantly he wanted to re-connect with his former bandmates. He worked at the family history center connecting families to one another and his band was really his estranged family. For once in my life, my religion and my passion for rock music are the same. They're about loving each other. I gotta tell ya, I knew how the movie was going to end, but... I... promisediwouldnt... c... cry.
Go see it. Morrissey is in it! MORRISSEY!
No comments:
Post a Comment