Even people who have never liked Hanson will find this piece riveting. The long-awaited "Strong Enough To Break" details the 40-month battle between Hanson and their then record company, Island DefJam. After years of their fans complaining about the length of time it takes between the release of albums, this documentary reveals why as it showcases the faithlessness and muck that the music industry feeds on and continuously feeds to the public.
This is the story of Isaac, Taylor, and Zac, the three brothers from Tulsa, Oklahoma who became superstars a decade ago seemingly overnight. If you thought that they were just some out-of-date fluff piece, you couldn't be wronger. Their ambitions were to become a great rock band; unfortunately, they were also young and cute, and ended up being marketed as some throwaway teen idol act. In reality, these are three hardworking musicians who have fought tooth and nail to record the kind of music they wanted, instead of giving in to their former record company's pressure to make another "MMMBop."
The documentary is narrated by youngest brother, Zac Hanson, and begins in early 2001, shortly after the end of their second major tour "This Time Around." It catalogs, step by step, the long and painful journey they made just to record one single album, the critically acclaimed "Underneath." From the beginning, they were ridiculed and patronized by those who were supposed to have been their staunchest supporters. In between their recording sessions and well-documented (and sometimes downright insulting) phone conversations with Island DefJam, we get a good look into the guarded lives of the Hanson brothers, getting glimpses of their house and family. (In case you didn't know, all three brothers are now married and middle brother Taylor is now a father of three.) The documentary ends with a (somewhat) happy ending, when the brothers receive word that their album, released in April 2004, debuted at #1 on the Billboard's Independent charts.
I was fortunate enough to see this movie during the late-night viewing in Tulsa in May 2005. It was absolutely unsettling to see that the former squeaky-clean teen idols were a legitimate rock band trying desperately to shake off the shackles of the music industry's cookie-cutter pop filth. I dare any skeptic to see this film and still think Hanson is lame.
