The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir

I am a tragically uncool man....I admit it. So, when a new documentary about the Grateful Dead and their lead singer Bob Weir came out, I decided to see it with a friend--one who loves the Dead and could help fill in the gaps and explain things to me as we watched. I never really listened to their music, so this was a new experience--one that was surprisingly enjoyable and held my interest despite me not being a Dead-head or even a nearly Dead-head!

While there have been other documentaries about this group, this one focuses mostly on Bob Weir and his contribution to the band. Additionally, the film talks quite a bit about Weir's best friend and mentor, Jerry Garcia. But, I should point out that if you want to learn a lot about other individual members of the band, this may not be the best film for you. This is NOT a complaint--more an observation about the scope of the film.

What you get is mostly what you expect from this film--a lot of vintage footage of the band, a lot of interviews with band members and friends as well as interviews with Weir himself. However, what I really like is the access to Weir that the film gives you. He narrates much of the film and there is a lot of interesting insights and observations about himself that make this a most revealing film- -especially when he talks about his life since the Grateful Death broke up following the death of Garcia. It also, most importantly, is very interesting and their energy is infectious. I appreciated how Weir and his band mates didn't seem to do this for the money or fame but for a drive to perform--and Weir apparently has performed more than 6000 times on stage! So, for the uninitiated like me, it's very enjoyable and well worth seeing because of Weir and the Dead's love of what they do.

As far as my buddy goes, he was ecstatic and thanked me for turning him on to this film. In his words "I loved the film...every minute of it". I think that pretty much says what a fan would likely think about the film.

If you want to see it, the film just debuted this month on Netflix and can be streamed from your TV or computer.

If you are a deadhead like me, this documentary will possibly make you cry and you will swear it's the greatest documentary you've ever saw in your life. If you are not, you will find it intriguing, interesting and well done. I was not going to review this because I am so biased. I am a deadhead and this is the most insightful piece of work on the Grateful Dead I've seen in years. If you ever were curious about the Grateful Dead this gives the most behind the scenes look at what occurred. It certainly gives you a different version of Bobby. What a scape of a most unique band that changed history. "The omnipotent Grateful Dead."

The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir (2014)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Whenever someone thinks of the Grateful Dead their minds usually go towards Jerry Garcia. The "other one," as the title refers to, is Bob Weir and this documentary takes a look at his life as well as his time in the band.

I'm not the biggest fan of the band but there's no question that this is a remarkably well-made documentary that packs a nice punch. If you're a fan of the band then I can't imagine you being disappointed in this and if you're not familiar with who Weir is then this is going to offer up a lot of great stories as well as some nice concert footage as well.

I guess if there was one thing that I'd complain about is the fact that the film is meant to be a documentary on Weir but it pushes into more of a documentary on the band and even Garcia. There's a lot of time devoted to things other than Weir and I'm sure the upcoming Martin Scorsese documentary will feature even more stories dealing with that. With that said, again, that's just a small complaint because the majority of what is here is excellent.

There are some great stories about how the band came together, The Acid Test sessions and of course how many fun times Weir was having with the ladies since he was the ladies man of the group. Also discussed is the disastrous drug use of Jerry Garcia as well as some of the darker sides of their fans.

So if you grew up in the early 70s you already know; you either loved them or hated them. No in- between. I for one didn't care for the ideology of the cult - did like some music for sure but you were either all in or all out mostly. Unfortunately I saw too many lives get too far side tracked for their own good. Enjoyed the story of Bob Weir which you don't often hear since Garcia would normally be featured in documentaries. To hear the story from Bob Weir himself is very interesting and how his life changed after having a family is enlightening and a happy ending overall making you feel good and worth to watch.

The life and times of Bob Weir, Grateful Dead guitarist and vocalist.

Good, but a bit flat. Covers the history of Bob Weir well, especially the Grateful Dead years (as you would hope). Reasonably interesting interviews with Weir and other people. Quite emotional too at times.

However, doesn't ever elevate beyond interesting. There's no spark, or something revolutionary in the story-telling, to make this brilliant.