BORN TO LOSE The Last Rock 'n' Roll Movie

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BORN TO LOSE: The Last Rock 'n' Roll Movie - Lech Kowalski

I'd like to preface this review with a short little anecdote. One night I found myself in a holding cell in a college town police department. I won't talk about why I was there, but I will tell you that my contemporaries included drunks, drug dealers, peace-disturbers, etc. Anyway, the king of the hoosgow was a gentleman who sported a wife-beater t-shirt complete with a homemade tattoo that boldly identified the bearer as "Born to Loose". That's no typo, this guy had actually misspelled "lose". Unfortunately, ole Johnny Thunders didn't get much better treatment from this film than he did from the grizzle-toothed offender. On the whole, the film is still worth watching even if you only have a mild interest Thunders or the New York scene in the 70's.

Hardcore new York Dolls or Thunders fans will find and abundance of early live action that range from hole in the wall beginnings to TV show appearances. Even more interesting is the "behind the scenes" footage of the Dolls and Johnny just being themselves, like singing along to the AM radio in a limo. It sounds hokey, but it really shows Johnny and the Dolls stripped of all pretension during what was probably one of the happiest times of their lives. The crappy footage has a visual quality that is instantly recognizable as belonging to the era of early video technology. It's dated, but ultimately cool. Watching the boys affect an instant attitude for the promo shots and fluffing their hair is pretty entertaining as well. This is why you watch a film like this: to get to know the subject. The more insight you get the better. However, fans of Thunders know that Johnny may not have invented the phrase "Born to Lose", but he certainly left his mark on it. For every innocent moment, there's at least two depressing or embarrassing scenes. Judging from the cast of characters, Johnny never had much of a chance. They're all fond of him though, from his large sister and her personalized "JT SISTER" license plates to his brother in law who admits to having to beat the shit out of Johnny one night, and various scenesters who can be seen alternately praising him or harassing him. Kowalski is still the reigning king of on screen pass-outs. Witness Johnny's one time pal Sydney talking about how johnny thundered in the sack. Eventually she falls asleep on the bed.

As a documentary, Born to Lose is almost a complete failure. The film starts off with live footage of Jayne/Wayne County that serves to do a good job of letting the smell and sweat of the New York scene permeate the theatre. That is, until it goes on and on and on. I didn't time the scene, but the amount of footage that should have been cut easily doubles that which should have been left in. Bad editing plagues this film. Another prime example occurs during a one camera interview with a French stoner and his mother with whom Johnny lived while in Paris. Initially, the subtitled slurring is mildly amusing. After amusing comes annoying. Not only are they French, but they don't appear to be able to link more than one complete sentence without repeating themselves. Eventually, the audience in the theater were laughing at the sheer audacity of leaving these two on screen for such an impossibly long time with no payoff other than the absurdity. It's almost Monty Python-esque. Sound editing also leaves a lot to be desired. A lot of this is due to the old technology in the video tape and poor or limited mic placement during the live shots. That, and lack of post production. Sometimes it's like he didn't even watch it before releasing it. For example, live footage with a ghost image of Dee Dee Ramone talking at the same time. Unfortunately, the audio tracks are both at the same level, making aural oatmeal mush out of both the live performance and Dee Dee's commentary.

Editing issues aside, there are still faults with this film. If you don't already know the details of Johnny's career you're not going to learn a lot. At best you'll get a partial outline with gaping holes. Even if you can't stand Malcolm Maclaren you'd still have to make a mention of his role in the demise of the Dolls. It's not as if Lech wanted to keep from tarnishing the Thunders legacy since he has inserted plenty of other anonymous and embarrassing footage, including some truly awful 80's era Japanese performances of some painfully bad material. Let's talk about Lech's double standards. In an interview posted on the Johnny Thunders Cyber Lounge, Lech talks about his decision not to include interviews with Johnny. His reasons include the fact that such footage often can be turned against the subject through editing, or through the fact that the subjects are often intoxicated or otherwise mentally altered at the time. That doesn't preclude him from interviewing other intoxicated people and using editing to make Dee Dee Ramone seem foolish at times, although Dee Dee doesn't always help himself.

As a documentary, Born To Lose The Last Rock 'n' Roll Movie is poor at best. The film sets itself up as such by including enough information and narrative to imply documentation, but doesn't even go half way in it's efforts. It's almost as if this "Last" movie was his first. Other minor annoyances include not immediately identifying interview subjects and the significance of their relationships to Johnny. "Born to Lose" seems more like a collection of archival footage with a half-hearted attempt at being informative. However, as a collection of Johnny Thunders images on screen, "The Last Rock and Roll Movie" is enjoyable to his fans and others looking for an introduction or a peek at the genesis of punk in NYC, and the states.

Online Action: Johnny Thunders Cyber Lounge (excellent)
New York Dolls Central (not bad)

by kilwag

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