The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

Awesome Movie

Absolutely the worst movie.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2: The Metal Years is the second of three documentaries about youth music movements. The first was a groundbreaking look at the punk rock scene in 1981. This follow-up concentrates on the Glam Metal scene in Los Angeles in the mid-eighties. While certain scenes from the documentary have become legendary over the years the overall effect is all over the place. Unlike most music documentaries from the era, it is very well filmed with good sound that holds up today.The Good: About halfway through the film there is one of the funniest things I have seen all year. Singer Randy O fronting Odin is performing in assless chaps. He borrowed them for the concert. It is a something that wouldn't be out of place in a Borat movie. In fact, the entire Odin segment is comedy gold combining the Borat vibe with grandiose quotes that wouldn't be out of place in This is Spinal Tap. Other highlights include Ozzy Osbourne cooking breakfast (he does so well till its time to pour the orange juice... so close.) And Lemmy being cool when everyone else (I am looking your way Paul Stanley) is simply trying too hard.The Bad: The bands; while the original The Decline of Western Civilization certainly didn't have all winners they at least had some bands that would later become famous (Black Flag) and some and that was actually good (X). The Decline of Western Civilization Part Two consists of one horrible band after another. Another challenge is that interviews with dim and inebriated adolescents rarely provide what one would call insight. The filmmaker certainly lets them dig their own holes but obvious questions are often left on the table. (Do you wear makeup and dress like a girl because you are in the band or did you join the band to wear make-up and dress like a girl seems to be an obvious softball just hanging there for some of these guys.) There are also very silly asides that drag the movie out such as an interview with the LA prosecutor investigating the Heavy Metal scene and an endless sexy rock and roll dance contest that is neither sexy nor rock and roll.In Conclusion: It is easy to forget with today's youth filming every moment of their lives how rare it was in the eighties for someone to point a camera at you. So as a document of this specific place and time the film certainly does a decent job. Glam Metal was dead as disco within a few years and almost everyone involved had to get real jobs. I am sure that many look back with a smile on their face and a shake of the head at their youthful folly. A fun time for those who remember those days.

This is for 'timsd', You wanted to know where Teri Weigel is in this movie.......When Odin plays the two songs.......during the hot tub scene, Teri is one of the girls in the hot tub.......you cannot miss her.......if you know what Teri looks like........anyway, I guess I need to have 10 lines of bs here before I can post it, so I'll just keep going...........best parts about this movie...........Gene Simmons, Odin being bigger than Zeppelin or the Stones, Gazzarri's pageant, Chris Holmes drinking himself into an early grave while his mother sat by watching.....I remember this movie being right up there with Headbanger's Ball for those of us in the 80s

Decline of Western Civilization Part 2, The (1988) **** (out of 4) I had seen the Aerosmith and Alice Cooper clips of this documentary via a bootleg but never got around to watching the film until IFC showed it the other night and I'm certainly disappointed that I waited so long because Penelope Spheeris' film is one of the best out there of its type and ranks highly among the best documentaries to be made about rock 'n roll. Members of Aerosmith, Kiss, Poison, Alice Cooper himself, Ozzy and various no-name bands are interviewed. The legends interviewed here give the same old stories, which are still interesting but the great thing comes from all the interviews with those broke souls trying to make a name for themselves. Spheeris asks all the right questions from what happens if they don't make it and even asks some groupies if they're worried about AIDS. The film goes into great detail about various subjects and there's such a wide range of musicians that the film never gets boring. I'd love to see an update on the people involved here and see what their feelings are since none of them (to my knowledge) became famous. Also, in case anyone is interesting, during the Alice Cooper interview he's asked about people ripping him off and he mentions he'd like to hang one group but they bleed out the group. That group mentioned is W.A.S.P.

nothing but fond memories of this gem. didn't it just cheer you up ? the sheer "we are gonna make it" "big hair metal is gonna live forever" and "of course we'll get a record deal"..with that much gusto behind it all..i almost believed most of them !!! great to look back at shallow bands with even shallower fans...great ideals such as "we're in it for the girls" etc...love it!! OK , i know some of the more obtuse interviewees really should have been left on the editing room floor but in retrospect if you removed some of these wizards then it wouldn't be half the film it is...it needs the looneys to maintain the levity and balance. from faster pussycat making themselves look as straight as john inman at a hitchens closing down sale to the monumental lemmy giving it the "run it up the flagpole, see who salutes it" anecdote, as a whole the film just.......works.