Anvil! The Story of Anvil

This is another film I've recently seen of which I'm having problems writing about and it's due to a jumbled mess of mixed emotions so I'll be as straight up as I can. For starters, I was never a "fan" of Anvil, nobody that I know of was, but I always liked Anvil. They could be counted on for a kick ass live show, at least I think they were kick ass as about the only thing I ever remembered of any I attended was waking up as a stranger in a strange bed wondering who the hell was next to, was it a work day, as a matter of fact do I even have a job and how in fuck's name to I find my way home, do I even have a home, from wherever the fuck it is and I wonder if this chick has any beer in the fridge. Sounds harsh but that pretty much sums up the way things were back in those days. So, this would be my complaint about this documentary, it failed to catch the mayhem which was metal back then and incidents such as one I'm told of where Lips attempted to lead a fifteen minute chant of "posers fucking die" to an audience of a lesser number than the duration of said rant at the Gasworks oblivious to the fact the crowd was most certainly not with him. I don't know this for sure as I wasn't there and as I also mentioned I probably wouldn't have remembered it if I were. It's rather unfortunate director Sacha Gervasi didn't have footage like this as it would have complimented the feeling of THE STORY OF ANVIL as it's one of two punch drunk fighters who simply will not quit, these warriors being front man Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner who is still legitimately one of the best metal drummers in the country. This leads me to the other problem I have with this doc and it's through no fault of the band or the director. It has to do with how so many reviewers have pegged this as a real life Spinal Tap as if that was supposed to be a good thing. I'm sorry, there are some genuine laughs to be had but in most cases they are all to knowingly dread laden and painful for anybody even remotely connected with the music business. This is where THE STORY OF ANVIL succeeds. It captures the problems and determination of a middle aged band trying to take one good, perhaps. last run at the big time. Gervasi, who scripted THE TERMINAL, has crafted this film so well it certainly won't hurt the cause of Anvil and it in fact opened in L.A. last night and it's well worth checking out the photos on IMDB of the boys hanging with the Hollywood elite. The boys! After all these years that's just what they are and after seeing their story you simply will be incapable of rooting for them. For my readers stateside, the band are actually toruing with the film so if they happen to hit your town be sure not to miss it......and buy the new CD for fawks sake!