In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

It has the hallmarks of myth, a touch of Oedipus...a younger brother rescuing his older sibling from his mother... There's craziness, but whether its inherited, or ingested or otherwise invoked, it's hard to tell.The film is vexingly perplexing, so though I was captivated while watching it, upon reflection it feels a little bit like an ambulance gawk. Contrasting the free recklessness of Roky's Elevator youth with his tentative steps at the end of the film is dizzying. He just seems like a husk of a man through most of the movie.The image of him turning on all sorts of noise generators in his cramped apartment to help soothe him to sleep. Fascinating.So I'm glad to read reports here and elsewhere that Roky is if not back, more on track. But I regard them with some suspicion, he's addled innocence seems to invite Svengalis. Footage from the mother's film archives was oddly awesome in a raw, and real outsider...yet creative way. The absent father gets a little screen time, yet a pretty strong indictment in passing. The brother seems caught between a lot of magnetic poles, his own crises rise up...he bites off more than he can chew with Roky...and then as an afterthought we find out he lives next door to said absent father?!?!Weird is the word...And I've left out the channeling therapist (you got to walk before you can rock?) and the once-upon-a-time defenders of electroshock and that track suit guy who celebrates with Sumner at the end.At the end, like any family suffering, I wish them the best, at least some form of solace. And I wonder if Roky ever sort of misses Roky?

In late 1965/early 1966,a band from Austin,Texas,named The 13th Floor Elevators exploded out of the garage & made a name for themselves in that era of rock & roll. The Elevators were said to coin the phrase, "Psychedelic Rock". One of the band members was Roger Keynard Erikson,coined "Roky" by his friends & fans. Roky,in the spirit of the times,experimented with various drugs (Marijuana,LSD,Heroin,etc.). After an arrest (that was obviously set up by the Texas feds)for possessing less than an ounce of Marijuana,his lawyer sought out an insanity plea & spent four years in a state psychiatric hospital,where he was diagnosed schizophrenic,emerged four years later & returned to music,but with a much darker edge,until he retired from music in 1987 and became a recluse. This well documented film manages to shed light on a troubled soul that was yanked from the limelight way too soon. Candid interviews with several of those who either knew him closely (his brothers & mother),as well as celebrities,such as fellow Texans, Billy Gibbons (Z.Z.Top),Gibby Haynes (The Butthole Surfers),Byron Coley (former editor of Forced Exposure),and a bevy of others. And then of course,the music (rare early film clips of The 13th Floor Elevators on American Bandstand,playing the film's title song,'You're Gonna Miss Me,as well as other performance footage,including the last time he was seen in public at a concert where he stood there,doing nothing,and if that wasn't enough,some rarely seen home movie footage of Roky,and the rest of his family). A sad,but insightful film. Not rated by the MPAA,this film serves up a few rude words,as well as spoken testimony of the horrors of Roky's four nightmare years in a mental institution,and descriptions of some of the more sordid aspects of the 1960's hippie counter culture (drugs,sexual experimentation,etc.)

Roky Erickson and his band, the 13th Floor Elevators were a 60's rock band that seemed on the cusp of great success. They achieved a small amount of fame and this was greatly due to the power of Roky Erickson's voice. (It's very easy to believe that Janis Joplin was greatly influenced by Erickson as the film contends.) As with many other bands of the era, the group experimented heavily with psychedelic drugs. When Roky combined rampant drug use along with a preexisting mental illness he began behaving much more erratically, and slowly began fading away from society."You're Gonna Miss Me.." attempts to fill in what has happened to Roky in the twenty or so years since he disappeared from the public eye as well as show his current status. As it turns out, Erickson has been living in Austin under the care of his mother who has made him virtually unavailable to any other members of his family or doctors to help him with his illness. Indeed, one of the first times we see Roky today he is enraptured with a Mr. Potato Head doll. A huge rift has developed within his family, as it appears that Erickson's mother is also in dire need of some psychiatry as well. The creators of "You're Gonna Miss Me" have certainly chosen an interesting subject, and generally present it well. They did a fine job of capturing Roky, his living conditions, and his relationship with his mother. They also managed to locate more than enough footage throughout the years to document Roky's unraveling.Despite the compelling material, there are a number of problems with the documentary. First, there is only passing attention paid to Erickson's father, brothers, or son. There was obviously much that had happened over the years between the family and Roky's mother that was not discussed during the documentary. I felt that those people had a lot to do with the story, but I was never allowed to really get to know them. There was even a remark made in passing during the film that Roky's father may have molested one or more of his sons, but for whatever reason the filmmakers chose not to investigate this further. The ending of the documentary left me wanting as well. There was a long period of time that Roky was in therapy and was taking medicine that the audience does not get to see. We jump from Roky being almost completely out of it to somewhat coherent months later. It would have been fascinating to see Erickson slowly reemerge. Although we get to see Roky pick up the guitar the guitar again, he clearly had a long way to go, and I'm sure the movie would have played better if the filmmakers had continued following Erickson for a while longer. Luckily the DVD bonus materials help achieve that sense of closure the film lacks.The 13th Floor Elevators still have many fans today (some of them famous musician tons in their own right), and Erickson's fall into the depths of mental illness is an interesting and tragic one. The viewer can't help but feel that if the right actions had been taken at any number of critical times in Erickson's life that he might have avoided a large number of his problems.

After seeing the movie, I still felt I didn't know the Roky Erickson story. Surprisingly little music. Too much focus on Roky's mom. She was unusual but not interesting enough to carry the movie. The obvious comparison is to the Daniel Johnston documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" - that is the better movie. The decline into schizophrenia is more visible. Note that I am a BIG Roky fan and only a marginal Daniel Johnston fan.Despite the review, if the movie is showing along with a performance of Roky Erickson and the Explosives - GO SEE IT! It is very interesting to compare the real Roky with the documentary Roky. Also the backing band ROCKS!!