Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving the Police

It's the end of 1983 and the members of The Police decide to take a break at the height of their popularity. It's expected to be a couple of months to a couple of years. Next, it's 2007 when they finally reunite for a tour celebrating their 30th year anniversary. This documentary is told from Andy Summers' point of view. At first, I'm uncertain with telling their story from the least famous band member but it probably makes the most sense. Andy is older by far. He's from another generation working the ups and downs of a life on the fringes of popular music. He's the least egotistical although he gets into plenty of scraps with the other two powerful personalities. His black and white photography also helps tell part of the story. He's the last to join and the runt of the group, not only due to his height. It's all here; the drugs, the infighting, the ego, and the dreaded going solo. Andy's personal life also has its ups and downs. He may be downplaying the reason for his divorce as mostly distance. His many trysts with groupies may have something to do with it. I'm certain that there is some holding back. The time between '83 and '07 probably had some dark times but this does not get into that. There are several 'reunions' over that time. Andy probably has the least reason to lie and this is a relatively truthful telling without going overly dramatic. He's the least charismatic of the group which helps to give this a level-headed look in a heady time in music.

Wow, I really could not see any way to improve on this film. The only omission, and it may be that this never really happened, was that Sting never was shown during one of his trademark nose picking moments. I wonder if Mr. Summers has considered another edit where the songs are each played in their entirety? Might be worth buying the DVD if so. I had almost forgotten how much I loved this band's music. I think I'll be changing several of the CDs in my car's changer today...

An intimate look at the influences, rise, and demise of the British rock band, The Police. It is based on the memoir of band member, Andy Summers, and takes place at the point of the reunion tour for The Police in 2007. Aside from enjoying the music of this trio, I enjoyed the back story, and the intimate documentary footage. This one is, obviously, from the perspective of Summers, who may be an unreliable narrator; however, that doesn't lessen the enjoyment. The film does make you feel that the short life of this band deprived its fans of some great content that never was, and never will be. If you are a Police fan you should add a half a star.

I was a huge fan of The Police in their day, having bought all of their albums. But I never knew any of their story, so this was fascinating. It was really entertaining to hear their music again, but all the tracks felt cut short, which was a shame. If you're not a fan of them already, this film won't convert you, but if you are a fan this is a wonderful trip down memory lane.

Andy is a really good guitar player, but if you google "who wrote the police songs", you will see that Sting penned basically all of their great songs by himself. It's not even close. For the other 2 to have any jealousy or anger that Sting got all of the attention, it is just too bad, Sting is a genius, the other 2 guys are awesome but are not what made the band what they are. I wouldn't say they were replaceable but I would say that The Police could have been just as good without either of them. Regarding the movie, it just didn't capture any of the magic that this band had, and just showed Andy to be a disillusioned partier.