Excellent, a Must See

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

A very likable, intimate portrait of the punk rock turned art rock group The Flaming Lips.A very unusual documentary in that the film was made by a longtime friend of the band members, especially leader Wayne Coyne.But rather than that leading to a glossy 'these guys are perfect' approach, it leads to a sense of honesty, of humor, of admitting of personal faults (right down to a band member using drugs on camera, and talking in a pretty heartbreaking way about his addiction). And what's fascinating about this particular group from Oklahoma is that they're wildly creative, while still seeming like nice regular human beings with families, day to day problems, good and bad sides -- unlike what we usually see of rock stars living in Hollywood mansions and hiding from the world.If there's a problem with the film it's that, for someone like me who doesn't really know the band's music, we see and hear so little of it that sometimes it's hard to fully understand the evolution of their work that's being discussed. So in some ways this film will work best for those who are already fans of the group, But that said, I still really enjoyed it, found I liked these people, laughed with their funny view of life (the 'reenactment' of the robbery of a 'Long John Silver's' where Wayne once worked is a comic highlight) and even found myself touched by the end.

Fearless Freaks is the story of "the punks finally taking acid" featuring the alternative band, The Flaming Lips. It is a masterful explosion of bizarre rock & roll footage collaged into a documentary form. Each 'Lip' goes into detail how they became part of the group and their personal struggles throughout their years. In a way, the film is a blueprint of how to become a rock star; make music with your friends, film every show, make loud experimental music, use smoke and fire when you lack talent, find a filmmaker to follow you around, crank call record companies, tour , tour , tour and you'll finally make it big. Every Flaming Lip fan and starving rocker will appreciate this fiery saga. Freaks is filmed by their longtime director Brad Beesley(Okie Noodling). It looks deep into their origins in Oklahoma City and is culled from over 400 hours of video footage the 'Lips' had in their archives of early shows, growing up, pictures and show posters. Beesley signed on to follow the band in the early 1990's and made many of their early music videos. Produced by Minnesotans, Rick Fuller and edited by Jolynn Garnes.

The interesting thing about "The Fearless Freaks" is the difference between the style of Brad Beesley's film-making and the production process of the Lips' albums. Wayne Coyne's music is weird, yes-- even chaotic, but it is carefully put together and endlessly tweaked, elevating the raw elements of songwriting (guitar chords, sung melody) into a mesmerizing digital orchestra of sorts. Beesley's documentary, however, is satisfied with gritty, hand-held 16mm footage of (usually) Coyne pontificating. It's odd that such futuristic, unconventional music-making would make such good source material for old-school, back-to-basics film-making. The most interesting part of this documentary, rather than the heroin scene with Steven Drozd, is Wayne revisiting his old Long John Silver's and enlisting two young children to reenact a robbery which launches him into a spiel about the rather un-poetic reality of death. It, like the rest of the film, is an incredible snapshot of some true oddballs in the American music scene.

VH1 Behind The Music catapulted the Rock Documentary to a different level(good or bad is your opinion) However, the structure the VH1 Producers use works wonders: Rebellious teens, start band, Plucked From Obscurity and Poverty by major label. Rise Fall and Rise. Good dramatic arcs "Fearless Freaks' follows this formula a bit but has different ambitions, and mostly I think it succeeds. But some sloppy storytelling and an excessive running time hurt the film a bit. Still there are moments of pure fascination, emotion and heartache in this one (Spoilers #1) 3 2 1 The heroin addiction scene with Steve mentioned in previous posts becomes a frightening, depressing yet fascinating side note. Even if one views this scene and has never heard the flaming lips. You will be moved. Powerful stuff. Thanks to both Steve and the filmmakers courage to let the audience be moved by this very difficult intimate scene. However, somewhat like most of the Lips earlier records, the film lacks direction and focus and becomes very vignette like. No real connective glue. Maybe an editing issue? (Spoiler #2) 3 2 1 Example? one part of the film mentions how band member Steve had some members of this family commit suicide but doesn't come full circle with the story telling. They just drop that fragment. You don't know who...when...where...why. Steve's girlfriend mentions it and the filmmakers just drop the whole thing. Never tie it up. Disappointing. Example 2 (spoilers) 3 2 1 The film uses these psychedelic montages as breaking points for the story. Come on people. You could have easily come up with a better transition device (I am a video editor by trade so I think I can be critical of this flaw) When the film doesn't drop the ball and effectively tells the stories of Flaming Lips members' families/relatives/siblings it can compete with any other human interest documentary out there. Truly moving emotional stuff. So wrapping it up. A good not great film about a soon to be legendary Semi Cult Band. And for music freaks like myself the film features interviews of Gibby of Butthole Surfers, Johnathan Donahue from Mercury Rev, Meg & Jack White, Beck, and some others. Really cool end kdc