Freaks? Huh.
On the Fearless Freaks, someone somewhere on the Internet—I forgot who and where—said that it failed to give a sense of narrative like Some Kind of Monster. Which, in a way, is valid criticism.
But then again, how do one put a man like Wayne Coyne in a narrative without him fucking up the flow? The documentary isn’t so much about the past, present and the future as about the heart and soul of the band. If Metallica hadn’t been on the edge of almost splitting up from the strain and needing outside help, would SKoM had been as interesting? Probably not. The Flaming Lips are not Metallica, They’re weird and got different ideas about what’s important. And, of course, they’re not that famous at all.
The big impact Jonathan Donahue had on the band was what they did after he left them. How they adapted to their new situation. They didn’t focus on Steven Drozd kicking drugs becuase it didn’t affect the band as such—from what I’ve heard, Drozd didn’t take drugs when they were in the studio. Instead they showed him prior to quiting in the most de-romanticized drugtaking scene ever.
As a documentary, it feels very honest, capturing the people behind the band as it is now, the past isn’t that a big deal. Ok, it is a big deal, but not in the way most people think. At the same time it also feels as a long celebration, this is not made by some stranger but a friend. As such, it isn’t boring.
Sure, the narrative has some huge huge flaws but it might be better because of it.
