Well, dear reader(s), with my local cinema forced to shut down again, this week I continued to throw myself on the mercy of home viewing, which, thankfully, cooperated with a promising new release, the music documentary "The Go-Go's."
I don't know that a documentary can actually be spoiled, but if you're not familiar with the Go-Go's story and you'd like to keep it that way until you've seen the film, kindly wait to read until after you've watched it. Without spoiling anything, I can unhesitatingly recommend the movie to fans and yet-to-be fans alike.
"The Go-Go's" follows the legendary girl group from its beginnings in the L.A. punk scene through its heyday in the 80s and beyond. While there's nothing especially compelling about the filmmaking, the songs and the band's achievements are remarkable.
A fact you probably know: In 1981, the Go-Go's debut album, Beauty and the Beat, reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart, where it spent the next six weeks, making the Go-Go's the first all-girl group to write its own songs and play its own instruments all the way to a number-one album. A fact you may not know: Nearly 40 years later, that feat has yet to be duplicated.
This film uses great old photos (many that appear to be from the band members' own collections), fantastic concert footage, and both archival and current interviews to recollect the Go-Go's extraordinary ride. Formed in Los Angeles, the girls started out as a punk outfit, and once served as the house band at the Whisky, where they connected with English ska legends Madness and the Specials. After opening for both bands on a UK tour, the Go-Go's returned home, changed bassists, and began honing their rough punk sound to power-pop stylings with a wider appeal. Minus the aforementioned chart-topping feat, their story reads much like hundreds of other groups: breakups and make-ups, management issues, and battles with substance-related demons. The film addresses personal matters only as much as they affect the band; aside from a few off-the-cuff mentions of youthful parental clashes and somewhat-less-youthful romantic entanglements, the ladies' personal lives are mostly left out of it. The movie follows the band right up to the present day, fresh off its own Broadway musical and staring down a new record and a(nother) reunion tour. In addition to the five longest-standing band members — Jane Wiedlin, Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlyle, Gina Schock, and Kathy Valentine — there are interviews with former band members, the band's original manager, and a handful of touring companions, among others. First-person testimony of the band's influence is sadly limited to Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna. It is probably the film's greatest failing that it didn't go wider there, as I'm sure there are many women who started and joined bands because of the trail blazed by the Go-Go's. Ultimately, though, the movie succeeds on the strength of the band's songs, which sound as strong and fresh as they ever did.
"The Go-Go's" clocks in at 97 minutes and is unrated. For those who mind such things, there are a fair few F-bombs and plenty of drug references.
If the film "The Go-Go's" is a bit pedestrian, the music and accomplishments of the Go-Go's are anything but. Of a possible nine Weasleys, "The Go-Go's" gets eight.
"The Go-Go's" is now playing on Showtime, and is available to Showtime subscribers via their cable or dish service's VOD service, and on Showtime's streaming service Showtime Anytime.
Until next time...
