The ever cranky, but very discerning Jeffrey Wells just saw a “viewing booth*” screening of the new Tom DiCillo’s documentary on ’60s acid rock group, The Doors, called “When You’re Strange” (*on a laptop in a booth? whatever that means) And he’s not feeling all of it.
Wells says the film is “engaging because Jim Morrison is still a fascinating wild man, and at the same time a little more average-human than he seemed in the [Oliver] Stone pic” [ed. a biopic that is so terrible, it’s actually pretty laugably enjoyable].
The obsessive movie writer likes it, but has issues with some key elements. “It’s stymied time and again by DeCillo’s trite narration. And I mean ‘give me a fucking break’ trite.”
“I began to go crazy listening to DeCillo’s litany of pat cliches,” Wells fumed. “It’s not that the narration gets it ‘wrong’ per se, but it makes one of the most electric and tumultuous times in American history sound so damn tidy and sorted out…almost vanilla.”
We were basically worried from minute one when DiCillo wrote on the Sundance page for the movie that, “The Doors are probably my favorite band.” Ew. We loved the Doors in high school, but hey, that was high school, we forgive you for your funny looking haircut too*. Apparently the film has a lot of rare footage that has even stumped the most obsessive of Doors archivists. [*ed. ok we do have a soft spot for their super schmaltzy and self-serious ballads, but there is a little ironic enjoyment going on there]