Anvil! The Story of Anvil – Head to Head
Well Ken beat me to the punch and posted a review of the documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil. While I don’t think Ken totally liked this movie. I think I liked it less than he did.
This documentary is misstated. It is not the the story of Anvil at all. It is about the continuing delusion of the members of a band called Anvil. The movie spends a very brief segment discussing the early successes of Anvil, including influences they had on bands like Anthrax and Metallica. It also mentions their inclusion in some of the biggest rock tours of the 80′s including Monsters of Rock.
Then the movie moves on to the where are they now segment. They move to the snow covered environs of Canada. To the “normal” work a day lives that these band members have.
The story then moves to exploring the threads of hope that this band still holds on to. The story moves from Canada to a poorly executed and almost comical (if it wasn’t true) tour of Europe. These fools experience one problem after another, and seem to lack even a shred of common sense. Missed trains , small non existent audiences and a missed performance because they got lost in transit. This movie has been compared to This is Spinal Tap. I am as huge a fan of Spinal Tap as any long haired metal head, but comparing this film in any way to Spinal Tap is a disservice to fans of Spinal Tap. Spinal Tap is a comedy and there is a fine line between comedy and tragedy. This movie is all about tragedy. The tragedy of failing to recognize that your dream is over, your shot at the brass ring has gone bye and the eventual realization you need to get on with life. Following around a couple of failed losers who continue to be losers is not worth 2 hours of my time.
