Review of Last Days Here (2011) by Ed B — 18 Jan 2013

Rarely do you see a documentary where you are puling so hard for someone like Bobby Liebling. We shouldn't care about this worn out rock star who's pissed away every opportunity that's ever been handed to him. This is a man who has bitten the hand of every poor sucker who's tried to feed him, so why should we care? Something strange happens during this film, however. We start to believe in him.

We find ourselves thinking, "Yeah, he may have fucked up in the past, but he seems like a good enough dude." Even when he's seemingly taking advantage of one of his few supporters, his manager Pellet, you still want to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Life and his own demons kick this guy in the nuts on a consistent basis, but he still seems genuinely relatable somehow. He's like he's an old bandmate of ours. You know, that righteous son-of-a-bitch that we can never kick out of the group.

Not many films have you rooting for such a slacker anti-hero, but Bobby is the ultimate crack smoking, heroin shooting, pill popping underdog. Just when you think he'll never recover, he comes storming back. If not for the persistence of friend and manager Pellet, this rebirth never happens. This film truly shows you the power of friendship.

Absolutely brilliantly paced, this doc is Film Editing 101. I could only imagine what went into putting this thing together. All those years of footage, Bobby's transformation, jumping from city to city, these filmmakers deserve all the credit they receive for this venture. Not only that, this film has what may be the most shocking ending we've seen in a long time. I did NOT see that coming...