Anvil! The Story of Anvil!

Anvil! The Story of Anvil
"Formed by two 14-year-olds in the 1970s, Canadian heavy metal band Anvil influenced the great acts that followed, such as Anthrax and Metallica. This documentary joins Anvil's now middle-aged founders as they recover from a disastrous tour of Europe. Hoping to end their youthful dreams and careers on a high note, Robb Reiner, Steve "Lips" Kudlow and the band set out to record their 13th album, "This Is Thirteen.""

3 stars

This film is pure love letter. It's a love letter to the band (the director's been a fan since 1982), and a love letter to rock and roll.

We open on concert footage from Japan in the 80s with voiceovers from heavy metal stars (Lars Ulrich, Slash, Scott Ian), all proclaiming Anvil as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. And therein lies the movie: who has ever heard of Anvil?

At first you aren't sure if this movie is for real or if it's Spinal Tap in the 21st century. The main focus is on Lips and Robb, the two founders of Anvil, now in their 50s. They've never given up on that rockstar dream. They've got fans (even superfans - watch for the scene where one pours beer up his nose) and are waiting for their big break. It's a common story in the music industry, but the fact that they haven't given up after 30+ years is either extreme dedication and faith, or insanity and arrested development. There's a lot of focus on the brotherly relationship between Lips & Robb, which is textbook rock-and-roll bandmate relationship. The main story follows Anvil as they try to go on tour in Europe, record their 13th album, and get a record label. It becomes clear that Anvil (and Lips especially) occupies two spheres: both band and fan. Lips strikes out with some so-called 'famous' musicians he shares a gig with, who clearly see him as some kind of fruitcake, but he gets love (and respect) in return from others.

With documentaries, you need a really good subject and a really good story and really good editing to be a really good movie. I think it got so many positive reviews out of guilt, in all honesty. The band certainly makes for an interesting subject, but in the end the movie is just good, not great. Poignant piano playing over images of Lips & Robb's return to Tokyo (they really are big in Japan) belittles the moment. I'm rooting for Anvil, but the film drags a little in the middle. We get it: the only ones taking this seriously is the band, and everyone else thinks they are a joke. And maybe they are. But they're following their dream, cliche as it is. And you've got to give the movie credit: there's a scene in the recording studio with the amp turned up to 11.