Wesley Willis - The Daddy of Rock 'n' Roll
by Daniel Bitton
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Steve Albini, Wesley WillisDirector: Daniel Bitton
Producer: Daniel Bitton
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-04-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Mvd Visual
Movie Reviews of Wesley Willis - The Daddy of Rock 'n' Roll
Movie Review: Rock and Roll Kinko's
Summary: 4 Stars
Wesley Willis: The Daddy of Rock 'n Roll (Daniel Bitton, 2003)
Whatever you may think of the late Wesley Willis, the towering schizophrenic rock and roll disciple whose music evokes hero-worship among the few and looks of utter confusion among the many, there is one unarguable fact about him: never in the history of rock and roll has there been a less likely rock star than Wesley Willis. Here's a guy who stands six foot six, weighs well over three hundred pounds, and dresses in neon green sweat pants; if there is a defined rock-star look, that is certainly not it. And yet Wesley Willis' music embodies both everything good and everything bad about rock at the same time; it's simplistic to the point of brainlessness, it's repetitive, it's scurrilous and obscene and deeply, deeply funny. It points, at the same time, to the pioneers who have carved out niches in rock over the years and the brainlessness of the overprocessed radio-friendly crap that dominates the airwaves today. Despite this, Wesley Willis created music for which the term "original" would be an understatement. What better subject for a musical documentary?
Filmmaker Daniel Bitton's hour-long Wesley Willis special is a "day in the life" kind of thing, following Willis around and staying out of the way, letting the man's words and actions speak for themselves. Willis is, in many ways, like any of us; he goes to Kinko's to use the computer to type out lyrics, much to the consternation of the other patrons (having a huge black guy suddenly say "suck a baboon's dick with Heinz Ketchup!" next to you is probably not the most reassuring thing that will happen to you on any given day), he goes to the studio and records a few tracks, he noodles with a synthesizer at home, he rides the bus, he talks to people, he sees his friends, he performs a concert, he goes to sleep. So, okay, that's probably not like most of us. And even for those of us it is like, you don't have friends like Steve Albini doing your engineering at the studio. But still, there's a comforting tranquility to all this. Here's a guy who's sold more albums than you ever will, and he's gotta use a bus pass just like everyone else.
It should be obvious form the get-go that whether you like this movie or not will be inextricably tied to whether you like Wesley Willis or not. That said, I've seen some music documentaries that I've hated even when I love the band(s) in question. This is not one of those documentaries; if you like Wesley Willis, you'll like The Daddy of Rock 'n Roll. Rock over London. Rock on, Chicago. *** ?
Summary of Wesley Willis - The Daddy of Rock 'n' Roll
"God gave me this rock career to keep me busy. Back in 1991 I used to hit old people with folding chairs. Suddenly, I moved to the north side of Chicago, Illinois in 1992. It made a rock star out of me at last. I'm the daddy of rock 'n' roll! I'm WeslArt House & International DVD Video
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