Let’s be honest: you either love Rush, or you totally hate them. I have never met anyone who thought they were ‘okay’, and if I did, I would kick them in the butthole for lying to my face. Thomas Dolby is ‘okay’. Molly Hatchet is ‘okay’. And Wings will always be superior to the Beatles.
Me? I love Rush SO HARD. I also love music documentaries. This movie is basically Jewish Christmas for me.
I don’t know what that means.
This is a really well produced flick. It packs a surprising amount of footage and information into it’s two hour(ish) running time. You get a really good rundown of their career with all the major albums (2112, Hemispheres, Moving Pictures, etc.) and their lesser (everything post-’81, Caress of Steel) getting comparable attention. It also gives a good overview of their personal lives, being raised by wolverines in the Canadian wilderness. The most inexplicable and fascinating piece of footage is an archival film of Alex Lifeson telling his parents about his dropping out of high school. I don’t know why in the world this was being filmed, but it’s a lot of fun to see one of the blandest rock dudes ever as a petulant 17-year old.
Lots of random rock dudes pop up to talk about how rad the band is, and it’s kind of cool, but I don’t know that I buy Billy Corgan creaming his pants over Fly By Night. Most everyone else has some sort of logical link through their music, though.
Like most docs of this ilk, it serves mostly as a fluff piece, made for fans, but it also could function nicely as an introduction to the band if you or some other guy you know want to explore their ouevre. Because chicks hate Rush. That’s a fact. The only women who like Rush are their mothers and wives, and this movie almost goes out of it’s way to reinforce that. But honestly, I wouldn’t want to date a girl who was totally into Rush. Or Slayer. I know dudes who would/do, and it’s not a good scene.
I caught this on cable, but it’s also available right now as a DVD and Blu-Ray, with something like 2-3 hours worth of extra performance and footage, and I bet that’s pretty tits. The main flick is so good, it even makes a case for mid-period/new wave Rush, that even the dudes in the band don’t like. All in all, a totally worthwhile movie.
SCORE: Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage gets a 4 out of 5.
