Review of Lemmy (2010) by Jack W — 04 Jan 2012

Life is full of interesting and amazing people, many of which are loved and idolized by thousands, even millions. To me though it is your peers that set you apart from the adoration of the multitudes and after watching the documentary LEMMY (Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski, 2010) I know that Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister is just such a person. This documentary was very entertaining, with at least three moments of 'insider' stories that had me laughing outrageously. Lemmy provides a remarkable story of an uncompromising man, one whose singular mark on rock and roll is as he describes, surviving!

And if anything, Lemmy does things his own way. From his clothes and appearance, to his endless collections of action figures and Nazi memorabilia, to his continuing onslaught of his body through hard living he never compromises who he is. And this is what drives the eternal respect of his peers. He embodies the principals of rock and roll without compromising himself or his music. He is quite eccentric, he is a walking time bomb towards a bad demise (I would say early but he is 66), his morals and attitudes are questionable at best. But isn't his particular brand of being himself, never allowing himself to change, being who he is and whom he wants to be, isn't that what has disappeared in this world? Isn't that what we could use a whole lot more of?

And the endless respect he deservedly attains from his peers and fans alike is a statement all it's own. The fans are going to be there regardless. Even after you have grown old and weary and are but a shadow of your former self the truly devoted fans will remain. To me it was the love and respect of his peers that impressed. Large super bands such as Metallica idolize and worship this man. They emulate him, pay homage to him, ordain him a God. They recognize that he blazed a trail for them and most assuredly pay tribute. That speaks volumes.

The only thing I would like to have seen a little more of is an insight into the downside of his chosen life. Olliver and Orshoski spent years filming Lemmy and the end result quite predictably seems a fan piece. Lemmy quite poignantly expresses that a rock star must choose between lives. Is it marriage and children or the life on the road. Living the life of a rock star has its perks but there is a tremendous downside and I am sure there are some rather sad moments in the life of Lemmy that we did not see and which would have made this documentary that much better. In the end though, the film gives you what Lemmy is, uncompromising and still here, surviving. I only hope I have the great honor of meeting him one day at the Rainbow Room!