CB's Picture Show

I never bother doing movie reviews, because I always wait until the pix come out on DVD, so it's old news by then. Not in this case, as our Documentary class got a look at "Anvil: The Story of Anvil," which, being a documentary, isn't burning up the matinee circuit right now, but looks to tear a hole through the movie awards for this year.

This flick is so entertaining, I suspected it might be a mockumentary, a Canuck This is Spinal Tap. Not so... it's for real! The film starts with the group touring Japan in the 80s with several groups (Bon Jovi, for instance) that went on to sell millions of albums... but Anvil fell into obscurity in Canada. The film maker Sacha Gervasi (who used to be their roadie) followed them on a disastrous European tour, then anticipates the train wreck of going into hock to finance their 13th studio album with the only record producer who'd ever done them right.

Gervasi manages to sneak in some homages to Spinal Tap with a trip to Stonehenge and a shot of a control knob that "goes to 11." This is a great movie (and a skimpy movie review)! It's a funny feel-good story about some funny-looking Canadians who never gave up their dream of rocking on forever.