Summary
Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris revisits her “Decline of Western Civilization” documentary series, this time taking a look at the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles.
My Thoughts
Having had recently watched “The Decline of Western Civilization” and being intrigued, shocked, and sometimes even appalled, I needed to know what Part Two was all about. This entry in the Decline of Western Civilization trilogy focuses not on punk rock, but on heavy metal bands and the culture that surrounds them. The scene is rife with wild characters, some of who are unknown, and others who are rock and roll hall-of-famers. The portrait Spheeris paints of heavy metal, much like the portrait she painted with her first entry, is unapologetic and uncompromising. It shows us a glimpse behind the curtain of fame, but it also warns us of some of the unhappiness fame can bring as well.
"We are not role models for your life!"
Like with the first entry in this series, the best part of this film is getting to know the bands. In the Decline part one, most of the bands were widely unknown, they were all struggling artists, most of them weren’t making any sort of money at all; some of them were even homeless or living in wretched conditions. In this film we get a little taste of that desperation again, but most of the musicians Spheeris interviews have already made it big, gotten their millions, and are enjoying their fame. For that reason, the film feels a little different than the first (not only in terms of the subgenre of music, but the way the music industry is looked at). I think I enjoyed seeing the struggling artists a little more; the only thing that drove them then was the love for the music and the need to rebel. In this movie, a lot of the bands are doing it for many reasons; girls (a lot of them said girls), free booze and drugs, fame, and, of course, money. Money is talked about a lot in this movie, primarily when Spheeris is talking to some of the bigger stars. Steven Tyler giddily talks about how millions of his fortune went ‘up his nose.’ The guys from Poison talk about how they blew their fortune in a matter of years, and they laugh when they profess that they actually owe someone money. Ozzy Osbourne reminisces about how when he and Black Sabbath were first starting out, they were taken advantage of, and screwed out of a lot of money. It’s interesting to see these rock stars near the end of their glory days (this film was shot during the mid to late eighties), some of them still living it up like they think they’ll never die.
Of course, with any rock and roll movie there comes depictions or discussions of things that are morally questionable. In particular in this film, there was a lot of very frank discussions of sex, far more so than in the first movie. Almost all of the guys in the larger band talk casually and fondly about sleeping with groupies, some of them in rather explicit detail. Spheeris even includes a montage of men talking about their craziest groupie story. While some of the stories are objectively funny, it really speaks volumes about the underlying current of misogyny that runs through the heavy metal scene. I honestly had never really thought too much about some of the lyrics that I’d heard in some of the more famous songs from these bands- I mean everybody has heard songs from Aerosmith, Kiss, and Ozzy… The lyrics always seemed just something to sing in a song, but by the depictions we see in this film, it’s obvious that there was truly part of the culture. Paul Stanley from Kiss is actually interviewed lying on a bed with three playboy models lying around him, and while this happens Spheeris asks if he’s ever fallen in love with a groupie. Paul immediately says no, without any sort of care for how the girls around him feel- and honestly, they seem to think nothing of it. It’s strange and surreal; some of the images were shown, and the stories we’re told.
There is a little bit of controversy that surrounds this film however, primarily because there were scenes that were staged. The scene were Ozzy Osbourne is making breakfast and pours orange juice all over the table is fake, and so is the scene where Chris Holmes drinks an entire bottle of vodka while sitting in a pool. There were also bands that were taped before they performed live, not actually at their concerts. Though these few things might have been staged, the movie as a whole reveals the loud, fast, and crazy world of Heavy Metal in LA.
Verdict
While I didn’t like this movie quite as much as the first film in the series, it’s still an incredibly good film. If you have any interest in rock and roll or rock and roll culture, this movie is a fascinating look at that world. It may be a touch rough at times, but it’s as real a look as we’ll ever get.
Like this movie? Then be sure to check out the other two movies in the trilogy: “The Decline of Western Civilization”, and “The Decline of Western Civilization Part III”.
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