LEMMY (2010)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
If there was ever a nuclear war, all that's gonna be left afterwards are a load of cockroaches and Lemmy
I have only listened to a couple of Motorhead songs recently (I am not a heavy metal listener, only a beginner). I liked what I heard - the rickety rhythms, the gravelly voice of Lemmy himself - it does sound more like rock than metal. So I guess I was not surprised to hear that Lemmy himself doesn't consider Motorhead to be metal. Such are the surprises in store for a humane portrait of the cult singer outlaw icon, Lemmy, in this fascinating if slightly long-winded documentary.
The Staffordshire-born Lemmy the Lurch was actually named Ian Fraser Kilmister. Before possessing his Richenbacher bass guitar and receiving the success of Motorhead, he was part of the Beatles-type group, the Rockin' Vickers. Lemmy also knew a world when rock and roll did not exist - it was inevitable that it would exist and he would be part of it. He was once a roadie for Jimi Hendrix, had been a band member of Hawkwind from which he was fired for using speed, and made his way into Motorhead which Ozzy Osbourne claims was truly the first metal band (though Black Sabbath technically preceded them).
What is fascinating about this rock legend is that he is practically superheroic. At the age of 62, he still drinks a jack and coke everyday (and has for thirty years) and lives near L.A.'s Rainbow Room, a bar for rockers and heavy metal musicians. He still sings and rocks like nobody's business. He still tours, plays video games, watches "Family Guy," collects World War I and II memorabilia and plenty of knives for their aesthetic value (he has a vast knowledge of military history), and talks to only one of his sons. Lemmy is unapologetic about his alcohol intake ("He is a lion," quips one rock and roller) and doesn't give a damn what others think of him. But he is also resolutely human. He speaks with a tinge of sadness about a girlfriend from the early 70's who died of heroin, a drug he is opposed to. Lemmy mentions only in passing about his father who left him at a young age, and declares his son to be the most important aspect of his life.
Other than that, this documentary glorifies the man, the rocker who won't quit, the one who Foo Fighters (and former Nirvana drummer) Dave Grohl claims is the real deal as opposed to the neutered Keith Richards (I suppose the argument is that Keith Richards used to be a wild man and Lemmy is still the same). Later scenes inside a tour bus seem to run on forever (a little editing might have benefited). Directors Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski provide small shards of insight (such as Lemmy's crucial letter to the husband of former Nashville Pussy's bassist Corey Park insisting he did not have an affair with her) but I imagine only as much as the whiskey-soaked man himself will allow. If I can't love the film because of its adoration of this rocker without the slightest hint of criticism or opposition, I do like Lemmy himself. Unapologetic, friendly, humble - he is the ultimate rocker on the surface but I also sense a man who is in touch with his soul and with the people in his life. He doesn't have many regrets and doesn't live in the past.
