American Pop

The narrative of this Bakshi animated film follows the showbiz aspirations of a Jewish émigré family through four generations (from turn-of-the-century to the present, i.e. early 1980s), taking in the various turbulent world events and reflecting the often radical changes in culture which occurred during all this time.

An ambitious if heavy-handed undertaking (Bakshi's trademark realism, displayed through rotoscoped animation, occasionally interspersed with stock footage) which is patchy overall but frequently impressive - and undeniably evocative. The necessarily eclectic soundtrack, too, is a major asset even if the last half does lean too heavily on the the hippie/rock scene; it's also amusing how the script presents the band which the protagonist eventually forms part of as the talent behind many of the best-known rock songs from the era by the likes of Big Brother And The Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Sex Pistols and even my own favorite, The Velvet Underground!!

One of Ralph Bakshi's last animated opuses "American Pop" came out in early 1981 with middling fanfare. I do have to give credit to Ralph Bakshi for making a very serious effort, rotoscoping the animation without leaving it too fuzzy (as in "Wizards," my personal favorite) or for the better word, half-done so you can the characters only half-animated and half-live (as in "The Lord of the Rings," I'd say the worst of any of his works).

This movie should play best as a midnight movie flick. Bakshi's best-known movies - "Fritz the Cat," "Heavy Traffic," and "Wizards" - for instance -would all play as midnight cult favorites at the Uniondale Mini Cinema back in the late '70's and early '80's. Naturally, I would have been much too young to go to that cinema and possibly out of place with a rough crowd had I'd been an adult in that era. If the Mini Cinema still existed today, then I'd say that "American Pop" would be up there too.

As for the movie, there isn't a single bit of humor, but the story is straightforward and allegorical of 80 years of music. We start with turn-of-the century Russian Jewish immigrant Zalmie who makes it America with his vaudeville acts. But Zalmie fails because his voice box is injured from a shooting while serving in the First World War and then gets mixed up in the mob. Then Zalmie passes the musical torch to his illegitimate son, Benny, who had lost his mother, Zalmie's girlfriend Bella to a mob bombing in their household. Benny makes it as a pianist,gets married, but is suddenly shot by a Nazi shoulder behind the back while playing the piano in his bunk during World War II. This depicts the music of the first half of the 20th century.

The era now radically shifts from early days of jazz to the latter-days of psychedelic rock in the 20th century. Benny has an irresponsible son named Tony. Tony, unloved at home, gets on a bus, runs away to California, yet stops halfway to Kansas to wash dishes and fall briefly for his blonde coworker, calling her hair "the color of corn", and makes it big as an acid 1960's rocker. He falls for a boozy redhead named Frankie, gets high on drugs with her and her friends, and bores an illegitimate blonde son with her named Little Pete. Then Frankie, obviously modeled on Janis Joplin (watch her swing beer as she performs), dies of the drugs and alcohol. Pete is confused about his familial background and doesn't know that Tony is his father. Tony abandons Pete on the street and Pete, the lone musical survivor, makes it on his own where everyone else failed. This fourth generation child has the best out of everyone as a David Bowid lookalike of a rock superstar. His "Blue Suede Shoes" wins the admiration of worldwide fans.

This movie is best understood with a historical and musical background so one could identify with the four generations of music. It is the most profound and realistic of Bakshi's work, and some felt that he toiled too much. Bakshi's works always carry social mores and he always includes Jewish references because he is indeed Jewish, although the surname sounds Indian. In addition to the four musicians, he also juxtaposes them with real life songs, singers and rock groups of each era, such as Cole Porter, Eva Tanguay, The Mamas and Papas, Jimi Hendrix, Pat Benatar and the Sex Pistols. Sounds crammed in, but it's hard work.

"American Pop" is an animated movie that rings truer to life than any other animated movie. It is indeed rated R due to occasional vulgar language, implied nudity, and frequent drug use. In addition to Bakshi's rotoscoping (his best done here), look for historical live action footage that blends well with the animation.

I won't go so far as to call this movie a masterpiece, but I do have a special weakness for Ralph Bakshi for some reason, and I enjoyed this film despite the awkward non-uniform animation (involving heavy use of rotoscoping), the corniness of some moments, and the bizarre contexts into which some popular songs are placed (e.g. a Bob Dylan song being composed by some fictional character on a bus, and - as another reviewer commented - a Bob Seger song somehow being considered punk).

Nevertheless, there are several things I enjoyed about "American Pop". Rather than a single individual, the "protagonist" is a "familial line"; one could even say the protagonist of this movie is a "creative spark" that passes from father to son. It was interesting how we were shown that the same creative spark which expresses itself through popular music is intimately intertwined with the sexual urge - and hence the urge to "keep the spark alive" by passing it to the next generation.

It's also very interesting to see a movie about popular music as a whole throughout the twentieth century, as opposed to being confined to one particular decade. In fact, on one level, "American Pop" is simply an entertaining history of twentieth century popular music, a history which is embellished by the presence of four characters which represent different points in that century insofar as they "could have written" the songs of their particular time.

Finally, one of my favourite aspects of "American Pop" is alluded to by the second word of the title: "Pop". "Pop" is, of course, short for "popular", and in this film we see that these characters' choice to express themselves via the medium of popular music (rather than, say, classical music or classical painting) is very closely wound up with the fact that these are all quite down-to-earth, everyday types of people who sometimes experience the grittier side of life.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would have to give "American Pop" either a 7 or an 8.

A story that transcends through the generations of a family. Starting in the "roaring" '20's the movie begins with the life of an immigrant boy and carries the viewer through a tapestry of jazz, swing, blues, classic rock, and early 80's rock. A completely different look than previous or later Bakshi works, but with the same quality. A must see if you want to forget you're watching an animated movie.

I love the animation style used in this movie. The interlacing of real footage and photos from earlier times brings a level of realism not seen in many animated films. The characters move realistically as well; minute body language is portrayed well. Voice overs are great. Of course it's not "Disney quality", but it's got a grittiness to it that truly makes it original.

Now I can see how one could criticize this movie. Basically, it all depends on how you watch it. If you watch it as a drama, you'll be disappointed. The plot is very centered around the one tragic late hippieish character, and is pretty simple and predictable. But there's a certain amount of charm within the overall story, kind of a sad, but beautiful shine.

If you watch it more as a musical, the movie works fine. The songs chosen are fantastic, and they totally underline the feel of the scenes in which they are used. In one of the first scenes, taking place in Czar-era Russia, there is no dialogue, only subtitles (giving it a great historical feel). The soundtrack is a sad and stirring Russian song sung acappella. You really get a sense of what the characters were going through.

This style continues throughout the movie. One of the most emotional scenes, for me, takes place in a cornfield, with the character torn apart with what he's done with his life. Janis Joplin's version of "Summertime" (an interesting choice, perhaps a hint of a throwback to earlier eras, as it is a Gershwin tune) as haunting as ever plays as the character cries. Messed up. But well done.

Jimi Hendrix has a cameo. A pseudo-Joplin/Slick character has a major role. A Sex Pistols parody jams it out. Late 70s corporate goons are running the studio. Great fun.

And that's how you have to enjoy the movie; and that's probably why music geeks will love it more than anyone else.