New York Doll -- review by Jacobus

I'm not entirely sure why I put this one in my Netflix queue in the first place. Either a friend or the system recommended it and though I cannot call myself a punk fan, I do generally enjoy it and probably said "Why not? It's worth a shot." I had no idea what I was really getting into and I have to say that watching this movie was a really wierd experience. First of all Morrissey was in it, a lot. In it he claims that there are certain musicians who you hear at a certain time in a certain way that impresses you so much that as time passes you never really lose interest in them and you are willing to forgive them getting old and fat etc. and that the Dolls were such a band for him. And as anyone who knows me knows, Morrissey is that sort of musical performer for me. So... I have to confess that as a personal weakness that made me more attentive and interested than the show perhaps deserved.

Another aspect of this show that made it quite a strange experience for me was of course the religious aspect. I think I may have spent so much time worrying about how the show and LDS interviewees were going to portray Kane's spiritual life that I didn't get to fully deal with the qualities of the documentary on their own. There are certain ways in which religions and cultures intersect that can frequently get my blood boiling. Despite my fears, I never found myself offended. I was actually gratified by the way they dealt with the issues of showing the spiritual in the midst of the worldly without significantly manipulating facts to push an agenda and without too much apologizing for either point of view. I think this principle finds its culminating expression during the ending credits when Johansen performs "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief." It was kind of a trip.

I rated it at 4 out of 5 schnozzberries but I'm not really sure what it deserves.