Anvil! The Story of Anvil Review
By Joe Lozito
This isn't Spinal Tap
Watching "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" is something of a post-modern nightmare. Director Sacha Gervasi's modest tribute to the best Canadian metal band you've never heard of is so similar to 1984's "This is Spinal Tap" that it's hard to believe it's true. Comparisons to Rob Reiner's quintessential mockumentary aside, I choose to accept the film as reality. But in a world where any kid with a Macbook and an internet connection can Forrest Gump himself into stock footage shaking hands with Kennedy, it's hard to know when the wool isn't being pulled over your eyes.
In fact, watching "Anvil" requires something of a reversal of your suspension of disbelief; you have to suspend your suspension to enjoy the movie. The resulting cognitive dissonance actually distracts from the experience of this mildly moving film about two 50-year-old men still hammering away at the dream of their youth: to be Heavy Metal titans.
Lead guitarist Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner (See? How can that be true?) are the remaining members the titular metal band. An early album, 1982's perfectly-named (and catchy!) "Metal on Metal", was apparently worshiped by such Heavy Metal heavyweights as Anthrax, Slayer and Metallica (representative band members appear early in the film). But despite hitting the tour circuit and releasing a dozen albums, Anvil never achieved more than the status of a cult footnote.
The documentary never quite explains why fame and fortune eluded the band (though Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich posits the "Canadian element") and the soundtrack's short snippets of the band's songs do little to shed little light on their talent. The film focuses instead on the band's current plight: being 50 years old and still operating a struggling metal band. Mr. Gervasi chronicles Anvil's recent lackluster tour of Europe (missed trains, defaulted payments), led by a manager they apparently found on the internet, followed by the recording of the band's thirteenth studio album.
Mr. Gervasi - best known for writing Steven Spielberg's 2004 ode to product placement "The Terminal" - has been a friend of Anvil since his youth, and he's given complete warts-and-all access here. Too bad he's unable to elevate the film above a glorified home movie and out of the shadow of mockumentaries past (a quick stop at Stonehenge and an amp that actually goes to eleven are particularly troubling). If nothing else, the film is another reminder of the genius behind "Spinal Tap". Not that we needed one.
Ironically, the film's shortcomings are the most convincing evidence of its authenticity; frankly, it's not good enough to be a fake. The first half-hour, in particular, takes a while to get going and when the band's on tour it's never quite clear where they’re located or what the relationships are (at some point someone dates the manager).
But in the end, "Anvil" is the story of two guys - Lips and Robb. And that's what gives it its heart. When Lips goes to his sister to borrow money, you realize these two people are close in age but light-years apart. Watching the two men shop around their latest album (which they self-distribute, with help from the sister), you feel for these guys who never gave up on their dream. They look tired, but they're still willing to take it to eleven.
