Review of The Other F Word (2011) by Chris W — 01 Nov 2012

Punk rockers traditionally seem like the last type of guys you would think of as being good fathers, but that is exactly what this documentary sets out to prove: that being a "punk rock dad" isn't an oxymoron after all.

The film was initially inspired by Pennywise frontman Jim Lindberg's book Punk Rock Dad, and he is the main focus here< as the film follows his life of trying to juggle being a father and the singer for one of the giants of the punk world. Along the way, he is joined by a Greek chorus of fellow punks and counter culture guys (like Tony Hawk) who also weigh in on the idea of punk fathers and give their sides of the story.

The set up I gave you isn't actually stated in the film, which sucks, and could be disorienting for some people. The commentary track says all this, but the film itself doesn't. And by all of that, I mean how the film is primarily structured around Lindberg. That aside, this is a really good documentary. It's funny, charming, insightful, and at times, really moving and heartfelt. I do wish some of these guys got more screen time than others, but it is nevertheless funny as hell to see a playground clear out as soon as Lars Fredrickson and his kid show up, all because Lars is covered head to toe with tons of tattoos.

I also absolutely loved how the film humanized these guys, and showed that they are trying to learn from the past and be the figures that many (though not all) of them never had in their lives. Not only are these guys able to be both punks and fathers, some of them are actually excellent fat being dads. It seems weird to think of guys who preach anti-authoritarian messages as being good disciplinarians, but they somehow make it work.

The music is of course really good, if you dig punk that is, and the interview segments/concert footage is all shot nicely too.

Overall, this is a wonderful film, and one you should definitely see. Probably the most poignant way to describe this movie is by one of the taglines: punk rock never meant to grow up, but it did.