My first movie review! How delightful!
I decided to pair this evening of historical musical documentation with a nice single malt scotch, a couple local dark beers and a frozen pizza. This begs the question of which was more suitable, the scotch or the beer? I'll give you a hint.. it was the scotch.
As the movie begins you're instantly hit with how influential the band(s) have been to the proceeding generation, from more known artists such as The Foo Fighters and Blink 182 to semi-famous artists in the punk scene like NOFX, Lagwagon and Less Than Jake. Descendents is known as the band that arguably established the pop-punk genre. While musicianship progressed as the band aged, the lyrics continued to hold the honest earnestness that was captured on their debut album Milo Goes To College. Although the teenage angst of the original formation begun to fade away with time, the film shows how the devotion to writing about life's dilemmas never waned.
After the short intro, the viewer is introduced to the founding members of Descendents in the early to late 1970's. Through a series of live shows, interviews and era pictures the various formations of Descendents is brought to light in succession. The style of editing done through this section allows the viewer to gain a great depiction of how and why things took the turns that they did. From personal issues inside the band to basic desires from members (Milo going to college) everything is presented in a beautiful and pleasant way.
From the hiatus of Descendents we can see how the band ALL formed and how they went through their 3 vocalists (with interviews from each). ALL lived it's lifetime in the shadows of the Descendents fame, but had moments of prestige as well. Both sides of the band are portrayed here, the good and bad times.
While the first half of the documentary is spent showing the history of the two bands to excellent fashion, it isn't until the limelight turns directly to drummer Bill Stevenson that the feature takes a particular emotional turn. The story of Bill's childhood, relationship with his father and his two life threatening bouts in the hospital humanize not only him, but the rest of the band as well. As an audience member you can't help but feel a strong connection with the lives of the individuals on screen.
Milo is and probably will always be the image of what the Descendents are, but as you traverse your way through this documentary you quickly learn that Bill Stevenson is the mastermind behind almost everything. He is undoubtedly the key piece that held everything together as well the main contributor for the direction both bands went.
One of the excellent things about this film is that as chalked full of information as it is, it could still include so much more, which really speaks to the amount of influence these individuals have made on the music world. I caught myself in an emotional state watching how things have progressed as the band(s) have continued. Even though the band was almost 10 years old when I was born I still can find so much to connect to, a sign that as things changed so much still remains the same. There will always be those awkward teenagers trying to find their way in life and trying to find something to belong to.
The story of the Descendents and ALL is interesting enough that even if this documentary had been done poorly it would still have redeeming qualities, but I have to hand it to the creators, their devotion to get an in-depth, all encompassing picture is commendable. The editing is so skillfully done that there isn't a dull moment to be had, yet the pace is able to change from lightning fast to reflective and yet retain an even flow.
RATING: 10/10 A+
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