In
the mid-‘70s, rock photographer Bob Gruen and his wife Nadya bought a (then)
state-of-the-art video camera and used it to capture one of the greatest rock
bands of the era, The New York Dolls as they approached their zenith. He was able to gain nearly unrestricted
access to the band as they toured the west coast, interviewing them, filming their
backstage antics, and recording them playing to packed houses as they belt out such classics
as “Looking for a Kiss”, “Personality Crisis”, and “Human Being”.
I’m
genuinely a fan of Gruen’s work. As a
noted rock photographer, he captured some of the most iconic photos of some of
the most iconic bands of the ‘70s. I
just feel that maybe video wasn’t his forte.
Thanks to his photographer’s eye, much of the footage looks great, it’s
just a shame the sound quality is often poor (which is a pretty big deal when
you’re making a documentary about music).
The interview segments aren’t all that enlightening either. I know the Dolls aren’t exactly the deepest
band in the world, but the questions Gruen asks are superficial, and the
backstage day-in-the-life minutia he captures is mostly inconsequential too.
There
are some nice moments to be sure. I dug
the scene where the Dolls are hanging around an airport waiting for their
flight. The expressions on the squares
and little old ladies who gawk at them are priceless. I also liked seeing the Dolls shopping for
lingerie at Fredrick’s of Hollywood.
These segments are fun. It’s just
that there’s not a whole lot here to hang an entire documentary on.
Even
die-hard fans of the band (like me) might be left a little cold by this
one. Many performances are cut to
ribbons, or just shown in snippets.
Sometimes, we even hear the same snippets of songs, just sung at
different venues. It would’ve worked
better had Gruen allowed the performances to play out in their entirety. Whenever the numbers start to gain momentum,
Gruen just cuts back to more ho-hum backstage shenanigans, which is
frustrating. I did like the addition of
news footage about the band playing Max’s Kansas City though (featuring a
none-too impressed Joel Siegel).
Overall,
All Dolled Up: A New York Dolls Story
feels less like a snapshot of the band as they reach the crest of their wave,
and more like an assemblage of home movies.
Some fans won’t mind that approach.
In fact, it almost (but not quite) skates by from just featuring the
band immortalized in all their glam glory.
Too bad Gruen barely scratches the surface as to what made The New York
Dolls so great.