Color Me Obsessed: A Film About The Replacements

Depending on how much you like the Replacements will be how much you like this documentary. First off, two things you need to know: None of the Replacements are interviewed, and there is no footage of them. You have various people, most you've never seen before but do have credibility in telling this story, which is done chronologically. If you have seen them live (I have four times-twice riveting, twice not so), you just never knew what you were going to get. If they were sober and interested, they were one of the greatest bands that ever existed. If they were drunk and doing mostly covers, you'd hate to have brought someone to the show and told them beforehand they were amazing. This film embodies this, and some of the comments are very affecting. The people who speak that are known, including Grant Hart and Greg Norton of Husker Du (that would make an interesting documentary), manage to tell their stories and they are mostly articulate and wonderful. Think of the film this way: Lets say a documentary of your favorite band was being made and they asked you to comment. There is gushing, some dismissive anecdotes. If you're a casual fan, you won't get it. If you are a real fan, this will be very watchable. I would have liked to see Paul, Tommy or Chris speak, but you can't have everything. Last thought: Does this film make you want to buy or listen to them? The answer is yes. In that alone, this film succeeds.

Great fanboy adulation of a monumental American rock band, not sure if this would mean much to the uninitiated...but it's cool nonetheless. It's a loving tribute, done in back asswards style, that would suit the 'Mats shoot-themselves-in-the-foot sort of perverse way of doing things, which is to say, the band is not in this movie, nor is any of their music. But it definitely holds up if you loved and lived this band at any point in your life.

If you're not familiar with the Replacements, then perhaps by viewing this you might be able to get the idea that this band was amazing, special, beautiful, shambolic, brilliant, charming and rock n' roll. Otherwise, I'd suggest getting yourself a copy of Let It Be and let the transformation begin...

The movie also seems to be more about being a 'Mats fan than being about the band itself, it shows a good segment of their fandom which is mostly (now middle-aged) male record-store clerk, rock-critic types, a few musicians and producers and one or two former rock chicks.

There time was short, they burned bright...it was fun to watch...and the music was great, what more can be said?

This is the best rock doc I have ever seen. I watched this film knowing little to nothing about the Replacements. I left with a real desire to experiences their music. The film puts the stories together in a way that made me feel that I personally follow the replacements into the bars and not only heard their gigs but set down and drank with the Replacements before their sets, though you hear none of their music. Color me Obsessed took me on a carnival ride I want to get on and ride again and again. Though this film is essentially talking heads the director captivated me visually with the composition of each shot as he wove tales that I not only wished I was part of, but I willed myself to first imagine then believe that I was a part of.

Gorman Bechard puts his self-confessed passion for the 'Mats through the paces with this linear and thorough doc. Filled with revealing interviews about much of the lore surrounding one of the greatest American rock bands, and one that had an undeniable impact on what we perceive as modern or alt-rock today, Color... is Bechard's rock and roll love letter to a band that has still not gotten its due. It spends a good two hours recounting the glory days of the Minneapolis scene of the early 1980s through clips with fans, other bands and even minor celebrities who "were there when" or just flat out believe Westerberg and Co. were all that defines rock and roll. Bechard's decision to not include music, archival footage or even attempt to obtain either of those, though, is curious and ultimately disappointing. Sure fans of the band will love the insights and appreciate the info offered on some of the 'Mats lore. But they might also find themselves yearning for some kind of gems. I think, for instance, of the Rush doc, Beyond the Lighted Stage, I'm a huge Rush fan yet the film gave me info I never knew but also dug up footage and music never before seen or heard. That's what a rock-doc should do. Yes it's good to be inspired to "go out and discover (or re-discover) your fave bands, but frankly i don't have access to the dozens of people in the Replacements' lives who would be in possession of the material that would further my love of the band. Fans like to think they are know-it-alls when it comes to the bands they love. It is the duty of a doc-maker to prove we are not...that they are able to show us more about the band than we knew. Color... does that through its interviews, to be sure. But I also felt a little cheated. And you might too.

I never saw them live. I was introduced to them when I heard "I'll Be You" on the car radio. Still love that song, and I'm grateful that it had enough production polish to get played on the radio. Otherwise, I would have missed out on The Replacements entirely.

"Color Me Obsessed" looks at the quintessential American punk rock band through conversations with the people who got to see and hear them firsthand. These people are unaffected and articulate in their expressions of love, respect and admiration--ironic for a band not known for being sober. Their enthusiasm is genuine and undiminished by the passing of time.

That's what makes this movie so refreshing and uplifting, even as it chronicles four Minnesota youths living on the edge physically and artistically for ten years straight. Alcohol abuse and self destruction are cliché in rock and roll. The Replacements and their legacy are not. So, yes, there is sadness, but there is also music that energizes and inspires the hearts of many (or the few, depending on how you look at it!).

Weird analogy: What "Vernon, Florida" is to turkey hunting, "Color Me Obsessed" is to rock and roll. Never mind.

Highly recommended!