Pavements
Director: Alex Ross Perry.
Stars: Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich, Scott Kannberg, Steve West, Mark Ibold, Rebecca Clay Cole, Gary Young, Joe Keery, Jason Schwartzman
This mockumentary/
rockumentary (if you will)
charts the 90s U.S. alt rock band’s career, their
legacy, and reunion in a
non-linear, freewheeling,
and highly fanciful manner,
while spoofing trad music
biopics. Along with archive
and contemporary actual
footage of the ‘most
important and influential’
band, the picture features
scenes from an imagined
jukebox musical ‘Slanted
and Enchanted!’ about
a young Malkmus -like
musician who makes his
way to NYC to seek his
fortunes. Amusingly, some
of the band’s songs work
surprisingly well as stage
musical numbers. The film
also features an exhibition
staged to celebrate the
band’s legacy, replete with
mementoes and a star-
studded launch, and a
big-budget biopic. During
the filming of the latter
the film’s star ‘Stranger
Things’ Joe Keery has
an identity crisis while
going in too deep playing
Malkmus. The slackerish
irreverent approach
proves is frequently funny, particularly when
spoofing the contrived
biopic conventions, with
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’s’
dramatically dovetailing
ending getting particular
and deserved stick. What might have worked
perfectly in ninety minutes
though becomes tiresome
over a two hour plus
running time.
David Willoughby
Follow David on Bluesky @davidwilloughby.bsky.social
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