Load of rubbish!!

A Brilliant Conflict

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I must say that I was disapointed with this film. I have never been a huge BNL fans, I find their songs kind of childish and obsessively nostalgic (this is me in grade 9, if i had a million dollars, shoe box of life etc). However, I have seen clips of their live show and I really like the improvisational and goofy nature of the show. I was hoping that this movie would highlight this which is, unfortunately, the most interesting part of the show because their music is well played yet somehow bland and not that compelling (there is a standup bass solo in the middle which was completely pointless and boring, despite how much Jim Creegan was digging himself). The film does not and shows only a few minutes of it (and you know they've had better moments, as in the Afgahnistan concert "Koffee Anan, he's the man in charge, my name's Steve Paige and I'm really large") .BNL are kind of like when I went to Europe a few years ago and heard that godawfull "Blue" song by Effeil 99 or whatever every 2 minutes, I came back to Canada and then a month later that song was all over the place *again*, I nearly chewed off my own arm. BNL is like that, years ago I remember many a fond memory of sitting around campfires in Canada listening to people play "If I had a million dollars". BNL was a cult phenomenon in Canada, and much of their humour has a particular Canadian slant to it (Kraft Dinner is a staple for many students up here, and the name "Gordon" is quintessentially Canadian) a few years went by where they slipped into obscurity and I was somewhat gratefull. Then all of a sudden they become huge in States, and everyone down there thinks they are this brand new band (yeah, they're brand new, but they're all in their 30's!) while the rest of Canada is going "Oh geez, I thought those guys folded years ago, do I have to listen to 'million dollars' again?"The concert footage is not bad, but I would have liked to have seen more of their stage routine, the shooting is not that great, and things like clips from their massive free show in Boston are glazed over much too quickly. The interviews are surprisingly dull for such a funny bunch of guys, I think they're all old and they have families and houses and stuff and have settled down a bit. There are times when they go into Spinal Tap type of material, where they deliver deadpan satire, then they break into laughs and giggles that kind of ruins it. The interviews with Moses Znaimer (a Canadian media mogule) and Terry David Mulligan (Music dude) are extremely pretentious and verge into Tap territory unintentionally.This movie doesn't really document very much either, I mean, it's basically one show and at the start of the film, they are already huge and have a massive touring entourage, it's not like we see them rising from obscurity and "surprise" they are popular, it's a methodically planned out event, so in the end it's rather lifeless, kind of half live concert, half documentary, and not much of either.

Back in January 1993, I returned to the U.S. from a two year mission in Chile. When I returned, I asked all my friends to catch me up with all the music that I had missed. One of them was this little Canadian band called Barenaked Ladies. I was so thrilled with them that I went out immediately and bought their CD, "Gordon".For the next few years, the Ladies would release album after album of quality music, but they were just kind of thrown to the side by radio stations. I know this because I worked at a station, and I kept begging my Program Director to play some of BNL's stuff, to no avail...until "One Week".Now it's been nearly 10 years, and the Barenaked Ladies are superstars! Watching "Barenaked in America" you can see their superstar status."Barenaked in America" is one of the greatest Rockumentaries out there. It's not a bunch of pretentious rockers talking about how they wrote this song and how they made out with that supermodel. It's five guys having a blast doing something they love. By watching "Barenaked in America" you can tell that these guys really love their fans and their fans really love them.If you've never been to a BNL concert, you're missing out on one of the greatest shows you'll ever see. If you can't afford the ticket price, rent this movie and you'll get a glimpse of the band that is Barenaked Ladies.

Not bad. I've never really had more than a passing interest in the Barenaked Ladies, but I liked the movie anyway. The personalities of the band really come out here, especially in the concert footage and the little anecdotes. As far as the technical side goes, it doesn't exactly shine. We've all seen better documentary footage. Still, it's a cute, harmless little movie. Not bad.

I caught a matinee of this limited release film in Georgetown, DC, in a tiny theater with the smallest movie screen I've ever seen with very few people in the audience. I've been waiting for this one for a while and I loved it.Of course, it's not for everyone. I can't see those who aren't already fans of Barenaked Ladies being terribly interested. For me, it was wonderful-- I've been listening to them since 1992 and I consider them my favorite band. I didn't really even learn much new about them, but the documentary was lovingly done and left me feeling good. Can't wait to see BNL in concert again. 9 out of 10.