Beautiful Losers
Argh!! I’m really pissed right now because I really need to take a shower and once again there’s a stupid fucking problem with the plumbing in my building and there’s no water. So, as I sit here with my dirty hair and my unshaven legs pondering how I’ll make it to a birthday bbq in Oakland; allow me to entertain you.
This weekend I went down the street to the Lumiere Theatre to check out the Beautiful Losers movie. If you don’t know, you’ve been living in a cave or your 18. Either way, the movie comes from the art exhibition of the same name that debuted as a traveling show in 2005.
The artists (many from SF) included Barry McGee nee Twist, Margaret Killgallen, Stephen Powers nee Espo Harmoney Korine, Ed Templeton, Shepard Fairey and Geoff McFettridge. These guys came of age in the 90s and are still pretty prolific artists. In fact, Chris Johansen is currently showing at Deitch Projects in NY. I also caught glimpse of Shepard Fairey putting up flyers in my neighborhood in preparation for his upcoming show at White Walls Gallery, which I believe debuts the first week of October. BTW, when did Harmony Korine turn into a bloated douche that wears Lacoste?
While, I am in admiration and “like” all of these artists the filmmakers really didn’t do them justice. They used cliched tactics like asking them brain numbing questions like, “What did you wanna be when you grew up?” It was rather droll, boring and made their responses seem banal. Most of them hadn’t crafted witty, funny answers and seemed uneasy in front of the camera. My other critique was the use of lame, indie pop to tell you how to feel throughout the movie. Is that even necessary? Can I decide on my own if I want to laugh/cry/shit my pants? NO!!
However lame this movie might have been I’m pretty sure it was still a million times better than WHAT WE DO IS SECRET. A movie about the story of Darby Crash which includes the following dialogue in the trailer, “He’s like Jim Morrison, but for our generation.” Umm, I’m pretty sure no punks would ever lay claim to such nonsense.
Here’s the trailer to both films so that you can be the judge. I dare you not to laugh/cry/shit your pants.
BEAUTIFUL LOSERS
WHAT WE DO IS SECRET
SOME REAL GERMS FOOTAGE WHICH IS PRETTY FUNNY
