The Fearless Freaks (2005)

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A very likable, intimate portrait of the punk rock turned art rock group The Flaming Lips.A very unusual documentary in that the film was made by a longtime friend of the band members, especially leader Wayne Coyne.But rather than that leading to a glossy 'these guys are perfect' approach, it leads to a sense of honesty, of humor, of admitting of personal faults (right down to a band member using drugs on camera, and talking in a pretty heartbreaking way about his addiction). And what's fascinating about this particular group from Oklahoma is that they're wildly creative, while still seeming like nice regular human beings with families, day to day problems, good and bad sides -- unlike what we usually see of rock stars living in Hollywood mansions and hiding from the world.If there's a problem with the film it's that, for someone like me who doesn't really know the band's music, we see and hear so little of it that sometimes it's hard to fully understand the evolution of their work that's being discussed. So in some ways this film will work best for those who are already fans of the group, But that said, I still really enjoyed it, found I liked these people, laughed with their funny view of life (the 'reenactment' of the robbery of a 'Long John Silver's' where Wayne once worked is a comic highlight) and even found myself touched by the end.

The interesting thing about "The Fearless Freaks" is the difference between the style of Brad Beesley's film-making and the production process of the Lips' albums. Wayne Coyne's music is weird, yes-- even chaotic, but it is carefully put together and endlessly tweaked, elevating the raw elements of songwriting (guitar chords, sung melody) into a mesmerizing digital orchestra of sorts. Beesley's documentary, however, is satisfied with gritty, hand-held 16mm footage of (usually) Coyne pontificating. It's odd that such futuristic, unconventional music-making would make such good source material for old-school, back-to-basics film-making. The most interesting part of this documentary, rather than the heroin scene with Steven Drozd, is Wayne revisiting his old Long John Silver's and enlisting two young children to reenact a robbery which launches him into a spiel about the rather un-poetic reality of death. It, like the rest of the film, is an incredible snapshot of some true oddballs in the American music scene.

'Fearless Freaks' is an excellent documentary that's sure to please longtime fans like myself as well as newer fans, and will probably win them a fair batch of new followers. As 'Watch me Jumpstart' does with Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices, it paints an intimate portrait of head Lip Wayne Coyne as a family man and member of his community. We get plenty of interesting background into Coyne's early family life and nascent artistic aspirations. Interviews with band members, family members, and friends are inter-cut with raw live footage of the group's often very visually fascinating performances. The pace is just right to keep the viewer always entertained and never bored, but not at a breakneck, highly edited MTV-ish pace. My only complaint about the movie is that details on the band's history and specific works by them are rather skimpy. I would have liked to have gotten more details such as Wayne explaining his inspirations for various songs, discussions about their creative process, studio stories, and the like.Drummer Steven Drozd becomes the other major character in this movie when his addiction to heroin is frankly and almost shockingly discussed and portrayed on film. Without giving too much away, this subplot comes to an apparently happy ending, and the movie concludes on a high note, with The Flaming Lips on stage playing before their enthralled fans, on the verge of another artistic triumph. Here's to The Flaming Lips.

VH1 Behind The Music catapulted the Rock Documentary to a different level(good or bad is your opinion) However, the structure the VH1 Producers use works wonders: Rebellious teens, start band, Plucked From Obscurity and Poverty by major label. Rise Fall and Rise. Good dramatic arcs "Fearless Freaks' follows this formula a bit but has different ambitions, and mostly I think it succeeds. But some sloppy storytelling and an excessive running time hurt the film a bit. Still there are moments of pure fascination, emotion and heartache in this one (Spoilers #1) 3 2 1 The heroin addiction scene with Steve mentioned in previous posts becomes a frightening, depressing yet fascinating side note. Even if one views this scene and has never heard the flaming lips. You will be moved. Powerful stuff. Thanks to both Steve and the filmmakers courage to let the audience be moved by this very difficult intimate scene. However, somewhat like most of the Lips earlier records, the film lacks direction and focus and becomes very vignette like. No real connective glue. Maybe an editing issue? (Spoiler #2) 3 2 1 Example? one part of the film mentions how band member Steve had some members of this family commit suicide but doesn't come full circle with the story telling. They just drop that fragment. You don't know who...when...where...why. Steve's girlfriend mentions it and the filmmakers just drop the whole thing. Never tie it up. Disappointing. Example 2 (spoilers) 3 2 1 The film uses these psychedelic montages as breaking points for the story. Come on people. You could have easily come up with a better transition device (I am a video editor by trade so I think I can be critical of this flaw) When the film doesn't drop the ball and effectively tells the stories of Flaming Lips members' families/relatives/siblings it can compete with any other human interest documentary out there. Truly moving emotional stuff. So wrapping it up. A good not great film about a soon to be legendary Semi Cult Band. And for music freaks like myself the film features interviews of Gibby of Butthole Surfers, Johnathan Donahue from Mercury Rev, Meg & Jack White, Beck, and some others. Really cool end kdc