Devo

This has to be one of the best and most well put together movie down to the overall feel with the music and the aesthetic of DEVO absolutely is amazing. I wish this documentary would be released to the public and not just in film festivals because it has truly inspired me and I've been trying to find this documentary since i saw it for the first time. This has also striked my idea on what my style is and has changed it for the better. I love how unique DEVO is as a whole and they are truly inspiring with their visuals and music. I truly hope that this eventually comes out and this is my last resort to write a review in hopes the director sees this!

Weird, strange, quirky, futuristic, innovative and all out rockin', Devo was unlike any other. An oddball hodgepodge of bizarro literature, Experimental music, Sci-Fi garb and pointedly biting anti-American satire that extends all over the globe, this motley troublemaking geeks rode out a run of great music and striking visuals during their peak late 1970s - early 1980s run. Fueled by the Kent State Massacre (which some of the band members witnessed firsthand), a desire to be different visually and musically, a manifesto unflattering to the human species and Punk Rock, the Akron, Ohio spud boys became an unlikely success offering a very different slant to Popular Music at the time.

"DEVO" charts the surreal saga in characteristic fashion: colorful and over the top in its barrage of visuals comprising interviews with the band members (an impressively articulate Gerald Casale stands out) as they go toe to toe with snippets of live footage and a varied array of films and images from vintage reels to historical snapshots. The result is a cornucopia of sight and sound and great music.

For a band as fun and as eccentric the documentary strangely moves at a conventional and sedate pace at the first half. A lack of perspective ensues with a failure to give emphasis on the band's impact and influence on music and the entertainment industry as a whole. Also, the band members' careers after the band's heyday are given short mention which is a shame considering Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale pursued eclectic and quite interesting artistic endeavors. This is a doc that could have been another hour long.

Whether looking like aliens in janitor's uniforms or a bunch of nerdy autists in early 20th-Century swimwear, all topped by those memorable saucer-shaped hats, Devo, all robotically-synchronized stage movements and mainstream infiltration-subversion, and again, great music (re-listening to their songs I was struck how fresh and much better they sounded) left a distinct and enduring mark. A fine tribute to a brilliant band, this is one fans and Rock enthusiasts should see.

Devo was a fun, adventurous band with a talent for mixing innovative sounds and vision with a commercial appeal that spread across a tumultuous decade or so.

Devo's catalog is rich and tuneful, despite the surface weirdness. The band wasn't just keenly talented musically, they brought a wit and an intellectual heft that was sorely needed in the music industry.

Casale seems to be the genius behind it all with Mothersbaugh right up there. But it's Casale's and Motherbaugh's never-ending complaining about the commercialization of the music industry and how Devo were poor, innocent lambs, victims of not just the piranha-like music industry but of America itself that disappointed me.

It's obvious Devo were masters at commercializing their product, even placing marketing/product paraphernalia inside albums. Instead of being the victims of commercialization, Devo were experts at sucking out the money from everything they touched/touch.

Funny that they whine so much while both Casale and Mothersbaugh continue to become richer and richer in the film industry while the legend of Devo continues to grow.

A fine documentary, as enjoyable as the band, but Devo sometimes come across today as too 21st century, too privileged and entitled with wealth, reminding one of Trump or Musk, playing the victim while enriching themselves.

Don't get me wrong: music with a message like Devo's remains important for its subversive qualities, but this documentary doesn't exactly avoid backfiring with self-indulgence and potential hypocrisy.

Yes, mindless consumerism and toxic capitalism is bad, but the same society they lampoon has awarded them a career. They know this (the doc nods to it in the second half) and while they're by no means the most shameless paradox in music (looking at you, Rage Against The Machine), you still can't help but cringe at the bigger picture unfolding in front of you with this film: privileged Me Generation ultimately changed nothing with their complaining and became the system they hated at varying degrees.

Especially when, during one particular archived interview, the members basically concede their pleasure in profiting from their fans and justifying it by audience numbers... the same logic used by their corporate and government peers.

Another flaw: the lack of insight to their core musicality. Mostly the film likes to cover social and thematic aspects of Devo, but almost no insight is offered about their actual music, the equipment, the historical place they have during post-punk and onward.

Devo's place in pop culture shouldn't be undercut but it also shouldn't be overstated. Ethos aside, in the greater story of music, they are still mostly that one-hit wonder band that made "Whip It". This doc tries to walk the middle-ground but can't totally get away with what it's trying to do, and frankly it's on the fringes of a puff piece.

I learned a lot about Devo today, mainly how crazy they were! They had a plan and they stuck to it and became known around the world. Its a good thin MTV came along when it did or they may not have made it. Makes me want to get one of those plastic hair pieces. Satisfaction is a great video as well as Whip It, love that song.