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View Full Version : Film Swap: Fearless Freaks (Bradley Beesley, 2005)



origami_mustache
11-29-2007, 02:25 AM
The Flaming Lips: The Fearless Freaks (Bradley Beesley, 2005)

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Although I'm a fan of The Flaming Lips and own ten of their albums, I consider myself to be more of a casual listener than devout follower. I love music, but in general I'm not one to get caught up in celebritism or the so called "religiousness" of rock n' roll and can't fathom the insane fans who dress up and travel the country attending each and every show, nor am I really all that interested in the personal lives of celebrities. Unfortunately this film is best suited for the latter of the two degrees of fanhood. For the most part I found the film to be typical, trite, music documentary fair, with extensive use of talking heads, album art, and archived concert footage, along with snippets from the music videos also directed by Bradley Beesley, which are the only things the film has to offer visually. The film also resorts to the mundane and derivative practice of having the musicians explain their uninteresting back stories about how the met, how the band formed as well as a namedropping session of major influences like Zappa and The Who. On top of this, there are a couple of corny scripted voice overs by the filmmaker himself.

On the positive side I enjoyed the super 8 home video footage along with a few ideas presented by Wayne Coyne that were sort of grazed over, such as his description of a nostalgic utopia consisting of hanging out with friends, listening to records, and smoking pot as well as his realization following his father's passing that death isn't romantic. Beesley also presents a very human portrait of the band; from the love and support of their families, their humble upbringings, the blue collar work ethic (Wayne worked at Long John Silvers for eleven years), and personal issues. The most intense and emotional sequence in the film takes place as Steven shoots up heroin while explaining his battle with drugs for the last five years. Friends and other band members describe their concerns and fears of the very real possibility of his sudden death.

It's apparent the progression of The Flaming Lips from album to album is something to appreciate and they offer something unique and worth while in terms of sound and live performances, but when all is said and done their story is not interesting or poignant enough to captivate the general publics attention and the filmmaker doesn't present anything profound enough for cinephiles to take away from it. Nonetheless it's an enjoyable film for the more serious fan.

DSNT
11-29-2007, 02:50 AM
I felt the exact same way. I've seen far worse fan music documentaries, but, as a casual fan of the Lips, this one still left me wanting more. I came away with little compared to exceptional docs of musicians I don't care for like The Devil & Daniel Johston and DiG!.

origami_mustache
11-29-2007, 03:22 AM
I felt the exact same way. I've seen far worse fan music documentaries, but, as a casual fan of the Lips, this one still left me wanting more. I came away with little compared to exceptional docs of musicians I don't care for like The Devil & Daniel Johston and DiG!.

Oh I forgot about The Devil and Daniel Johnston...I really want to see that.

D_Davis
11-29-2007, 05:59 AM
I love this film, but mainly because I love the Flips so dang much. Fearless Freaks has some great moments, and honestly, I could listen to Wayne talk about anything. He's one of my heroes. I think that their newest concert DVD is even better, but I still totally dig the doc.

origami_mustache
11-29-2007, 06:33 AM
I love this film, but mainly because I love the Flips so dang much. Fearless Freaks has some great moments, and honestly, I could listen to Wayne talk about anything. He's one of my heroes. I think that their newest concert DVD is even better, but I still totally dig the doc.

I enjoy listening to him as well...you can tell he's brilliant, but phrases things in a very common and down to earth manner.

Kurosawa Fan
11-29-2007, 02:14 PM
Bummer. Glad you found some things of value. What struck me most about the film was how candid the band members were. That's a very rare thing. They came off as genuine and honest and unafraid of criticism, when most celebrities always seem to be hiding behind a facade. Plus I love the Lips.

D_Davis
11-29-2007, 03:47 PM
Bummer. Glad you found some things of value. What struck me most about the film was how candid the band members were. That's a very rare thing. They came off as genuine and honest and unafraid of criticism, when most celebrities always seem to be hiding behind a facade. Plus I love the Lips.

I've met Wayne and Michael a few times, and each time they were totally cool, down to earth, and just really pleasant. I think they possess a lot of humility, and genuine love for life and humanity, which totally shines through in their songs and personas.

origami_mustache
11-29-2007, 06:31 PM
Bummer. Glad you found some things of value. What struck me most about the film was how candid the band members were. That's a very rare thing. They came off as genuine and honest and unafraid of criticism, when most celebrities always seem to be hiding behind a facade. Plus I love the Lips.

I agree with this. I really admired how Wayne attributed hard work ethic to their success and how he feels he owes it to the people who believe in him to prove himself and give fans more than their money's worth at the shows.