The Go-Go's

The first 45 minutes focus on their formation, punk roots, and breaking through. It's excellent..but it also ruined the film. Let me explain.. 45 minutes in, the focus is on Beauty and the Beat. That's great. Loving it. But then you realize you're halfway through the film. The casual fan/viewer won't see a problem. As a hard-core fan, however, you'll be wondering how the director can possibly do justice to the rest of their history. She can't. The 2nd and 3rd albums, the turmoil, Jane leaving, and the breakup are all crammed into about 30 minutes. Worse, so much isn't even mentioned. Belinda's solo success? About 2 sentences and a picture of the Heaven album. The 1990 reunion? No mention. God Bless the Go Go's? Nope. I could go on and on. Instead, we immediately jump from 1985 to 2000. Next? About 3 minutes later, we jump from 2000 to 2020. No mention of literally anything during that 20 year gap. You then get some final thoughts, hear their new song, and the credits roll. Bottom line: To casual or new eyes, you'll probably love it. Maybe that is what the intention was. To dedicated fans, you will 100% be disappointed. The solution, because of the slow and detailed formula used for the first 45 minutes, would demand the film to be well over 2 hours. But, would the casual viewer want another hour? Unlikely. The length and how the director chose to allocate the time was a formula for disaster. HOWEVER..let me be clear..the first 45 minutes are incredible. The problem is that the film needed about 90 more minutes because of those slow-burn, thorough 45 minutes. This would have been an INCREDIBLE 2 or 3 part documentary. As it stands, you have an amazing 45 minutes followed by an incomplete, rushed, and frustrating 2nd half of the film. 10/10 for the band, though. Maybe a director's cut will be released..I don't see it fixing the problem, however.

Showtime does subpar documentaries in comparison to their rival, HBO, but this one was okay. Just a lot of glossing over relevant information. So, Charlotte has a massive drug problem. How about you tell us HOW that was and how it affected everything and everyone around her? Band members repeatedly state Charlotte was out of control, even saying, "She was so out of control, Ozzy Osbourne banned her from his dressing room." And that's it. No details, whatsoever. Now THAT'S a story everyone would want to hear. Outside of those details, it was fun watching all the footage of these adorable cutie pies. I didn't realize how many of their songs I actually knew, probably because they appeared on so many movies and tv commercials. Worth a watch if you're an 80's baby and general music fan.

I recently discovered their first album in a thrift shop. Thought I would give the documentary a view. W0W what a great history lesson!! A must watch for any music buff.

I mean the documentary isn't bad but some of the content makes you sick to your stomach. Somehow they thought they were special when all they really amounted to was another cookie cutter pop band in the 80s. It is interesting listening to how their first major label picked them up based on image (didn't care if they were good) and then made them change their sound (oh all of our songs are pop songs when we play them slower). I mean anything can be a pop song if it's played like a pop song lol.

Also the way they talked about being misfits and finding each other (family) really seems like a bunch of hogwash when in the next scene they kick out members for no better reason then money and fame.

The whole mess just seems like the brain washed ramblings of a band that once had an impact. Also the pacing of the documentary is horrendous. With proper editing it could have been much better (stylistically not it's content).

Alison Ellwood's (Laurel Canyon) Documentary does a pretty fair job of covering the story of the all-girl band who made good in the early 80s. It's an authorized Doc with the full participation of all five main members, but they do speak pretty openly of their the squabbles and feuds which led to their breaking up after only three albums. Two founding band members who were fired before they hit the big-time are also given time to speak their minds, as is the group's original manager who was forced out when they were at their peak of fame. Still, there are obvious gaps in the storytelling (including a major lawsuit by bassist Kathy Valentine that kept her out of the band's reunion shows for a few years), and while the two guitarists, Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey, talk openly about their personal issues, singer Belinda Carlisle is very circumspect. Gina Schock is refreshingly candid. As someone who was a big fan of the band when they hit the scene, there's a sense of sadness about band's story. For a band who's music and public image was all big and bouncy, one comes away feeling that they didn't enjoy their couple of years of fame. Sure, the sex, drugs and booze standard rock 'n roll rise and fall story applies to many bands, but, the Go-Gos rise and fall tale seems to have happened on speed dial. Indeed, the unspoken message here is that it was their comet-like rise to the top that caused them to crash and burn even that much more rapidly. They were the first all woman band to play their own instruments to have a Number One album (and still are!!), but the pressure to cash-in on that newfound fame caused jealousies and divisions within the band and accentuated Wiedlin and Caffey's personal demons to the breaking point. Still, for all the turmoil, Ellwood shows that the women have patched things up. The band also shows personal photos of the good times they had together. They do seem to be, if not content now, at least more at peace with themselves - and each other. And, their new song, 'Club Zero' ain't half bad, either.