Anvil thoughts and rambles

I saw on Rotten Tomatoes, that Lips (singer of Anvil) and Robb (drummer of Anvil) revealed their top 5 movies, and first on that list? Anvil! The Story of Anvil. It makes complete sense, because Lips and Robb are completely vulnerable in this movie. They expose themselves of who they are and only hope for attention and praise in return. I'm not sure if it happened, but all the audience can do is hope for them, because they are really doing whatever they can to make it. And they have done so for the past 30 years.

As a metal band, their time is probably gone to get the exposure, respect, and money that they deserve, want and need. They are still rocking it out, hoping for that major label contract, hoping for the manager to guide them through tours, and hoping for that large fan-base that will support them across countries. Perhaps these dreams are unrealistic and misguided, but it is the only thing they can set their sights on in the long run. They don't know what else to do, because they've done almost everything else and they can't really make it. Perhaps they need a better publicist, but at this point they don't know how to get one nor have the right funds for one. But would that even help? Metal isn't what it was before, and they are simply old. They have a loyal fan-base right now, but they seem to be there for nostalgia. We want them to succeed, but everything does not seem to be in the right conditions. The band, though stable as far as the two core members, it struggles and is internally unstable.

As Robb and Lips both agree, Robb is set. And it's really heartwarming to see Lips and his relationship so deep and profound for the sake of the band and their shared dreams. But Lips is the core of this story. He is the sore thumb of his family, of all his siblings who chose an "artsy" career path. He even looks quite different from his siblings, and his wife and son. He's struggled with acceptance his whole life, starting from his father. His words are articulate, and his feelings are real. There's nothing not to like about this guy's passion. He lives for it, and suffers from it. The movie's overall somber, because the self infliction that it will never become real for him, even though we wish it. And that's the story, but it exposes so much more as well about human character and music industries. It inspires and informs. It is good.

The director and screened interviews don't push anything at you, instead give you information for your own processing. I didn't spoil the whole thing because there is so much more... You should watch it.

Four out of Four.