(TV) OT: Capsule review: END OF THE CENTURY: THE STORY OF THE RAMONES

[Russ Van Rooy <russvr@pop.nwnexus.com>]

Hey. I saw the Ramones "rockumentary" last night: 'End of the Century: 
The Story of the Ramones' and I have to say it's one of the best band 
documentaries I've seen, maybe the best of a generation. Up there with 
The Kids are Alright, Dont Look Back, Rust Never Sleeps - all of which 
can only loosely fit the categorization. I knew very little about The 
Ramones when I went into this movie; I have a greatest hits compilation 
in my CD collection and I would never have called myself a huge fan. 
Well, these guys were way more than the cartoon image I had of them - 
thanks mostly to Rock n Roll High School. I had no idea that drummer, 
Tommy, had had such power in the band as a guiding force (and as 
producer of several of their albums). I had no idea that Joey was a 
wallflower/geek who had come into his own power and confidence once he 
had become the Ramones lead vocalist. Dee Dee came across as way more 
intelligent than I'd ever given him credit for - though evidentially not 
intelligent enough. And I had not known that Johnny was the 
disciplinarian of the band and the main direction-giver - essentially 
not-so-benevolent dictator. The movie is filled with funny and poignant 
moments. One of the funnier moments was when Dee Dee was trying to 
explain why the band played so loudly - it reminded me strongly of the 
moment in This Is Spinal Tap when Nigel Tufnel was trying to explain why 
their amplifiers went to eleven. Television of course was discussed and 
film of Television playing Venus was included. More on how Television 
created that CBGBs scene and how Malcolm McLaren got many of his ideas 
from Television would have been a better nod to accuracy. Over all a 
great flick - go so it with someone you love.

- Russ
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