GIMME DANGER (2016) ****

Jim Jarmusch and Iggy Pop just seem like a match made in Hell.  The Stooges are exactly the kind of outcasts that Jarmusch would gravitate towards.  That of course, makes him the perfect man to tell their story. 

This enormously entertaining documentary starts with the band’s implosion in ‘73 before working backwards to cover their early days.  Their wild antics get them noticed by the MC5 who take them under their wing.  The Stooges soon eclipse their mentors in both popularity and substance before taking off on their own self-destructive (but highly influential) path. 

Jarmusch’s die-hard devotion to the band is infectious.  I loved how he doesn’t go into Iggy’s solo career at all.  Nor does he cover his descent into drug addiction.  Jarmusch is making a movie about The Stooges.  It’s a solid call on his part, and you have to admire that level of dedication.  A lesser director would’ve padded the film with that sort of stuff.  Jarmusch has enough confidence in his subject to let those kinds of side jaunts go by the wayside.

There are plenty of great moments throughout.  I especially liked the animated bits of the band hearing “Kick Out the Jams” for the first time or crashing a tour bus.  My favorite scene though details how they got permission from Moe Howard to let them use the Stooges name.  I also loved the montage of various punk bands covering Stooges songs, which is a great way to show their far-reaching and long-lasting influence. 

Gimme Danger is a terrific documentary and one of Jarmusch’s all-time best films.  If there is a fault, it’s that I’m not sure how the uninitiated will take to it.  Jarmusch mostly made it for the fans.  That’s fitting though I guess since The Stooges never cared if you liked them or not.