Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King
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It's been over a week since I've seen "Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King." I was hoping a little distance might offer a more positive perspective. Being an admirer of Half Japanese, I wanted to like this documentary, really I did, but I found it frustrating and disappointing.
For the benefit of the uninitiated, Half Japanese is one of the pioneers of punk. The band was started by Jad and David Fair, who one day decided to pick up instruments they had no idea how to play and make music. Their sound is commonly described as a combination of the Velvet Underground's minimalism and Jonathan Richman's naivete. The problem lies with the movie's approach. It's like this billboard I pass on the drive up to Seattle - it always has some over-the-top right wing message on it, so that at first you think it's ironic, but slowly come to the realization that it actually might be serious. Besides the Fair brothers, the documentary features a handful of key interviewees, including Jad and David Fair's parents, Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame), Maureen "Moe" Tucker (drummer for Velvet Underground), and some random music journalist/record producer types. The film does contain some funny anecdotes (most notably Penn Jillette's account of how he used his earnings from Miami Vice to produce some of Half Japanese's records) and interesting live performances, but the majority of the film is just people yapping about how Half Japanese is the best band ever but never really explaining why, and making outrageous claims like the Beatles and the Stones only wish they made albums as good as Charmed Life.I've scoured the internet for reviews of the movie, hoping to shed some light on what must surely be a deficiency on my part to understand the film's essence. Unfortunately, these reviews are no help. They are written by people who regurgitate the unapologetic praise for the band displayed in the movie, who obviously don't know what they're talking about (referring to "Jad" as "Jed"), and/or who think the documentary is a big joke about an imaginary band.Being ironic is all well and good, but the point of this movie was not to poke fun at Half Japanese. It's genuinely trying to tell the story of an underground legend. And I think by taking this "mockumentary" angle, they did the band a real disservice. I came away knowing little about Half-Japanese and why they deserve a place in rock and roll history, and no appreciation for the do-it-yourself ethic. What a shame.
For the benefit of the uninitiated, Half Japanese is one of the pioneers of punk. The band was started by Jad and David Fair, who one day decided to pick up instruments they had no idea how to play and make music. Their sound is commonly described as a combination of the Velvet Underground's minimalism and Jonathan Richman's naivete. The problem lies with the movie's approach. It's like this billboard I pass on the drive up to Seattle - it always has some over-the-top right wing message on it, so that at first you think it's ironic, but slowly come to the realization that it actually might be serious. Besides the Fair brothers, the documentary features a handful of key interviewees, including Jad and David Fair's parents, Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame), Maureen "Moe" Tucker (drummer for Velvet Underground), and some random music journalist/record producer types. The film does contain some funny anecdotes (most notably Penn Jillette's account of how he used his earnings from Miami Vice to produce some of Half Japanese's records) and interesting live performances, but the majority of the film is just people yapping about how Half Japanese is the best band ever but never really explaining why, and making outrageous claims like the Beatles and the Stones only wish they made albums as good as Charmed Life.I've scoured the internet for reviews of the movie, hoping to shed some light on what must surely be a deficiency on my part to understand the film's essence. Unfortunately, these reviews are no help. They are written by people who regurgitate the unapologetic praise for the band displayed in the movie, who obviously don't know what they're talking about (referring to "Jad" as "Jed"), and/or who think the documentary is a big joke about an imaginary band.Being ironic is all well and good, but the point of this movie was not to poke fun at Half Japanese. It's genuinely trying to tell the story of an underground legend. And I think by taking this "mockumentary" angle, they did the band a real disservice. I came away knowing little about Half-Japanese and why they deserve a place in rock and roll history, and no appreciation for the do-it-yourself ethic. What a shame.
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