Wesley Willis

Funded by the Canada Council for the Arts (of all organisations - but being a long-time supporter of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, it doesn't surprise me that they would fund something like this), this documentary is about an unfortunate man from the Chicago ghettos named Wesley Willis. There are many unfortunate men from those parts, but Wesley was different. Tortured by mental demons who sent him on "hellrides", he created both sketches & songs as a means of forcing the demons out of his mind, as well as to make a living as best he could. He had a very specific attention for details - probably an indication of greater intelligence than he outwardly seemed to have. A lifelong couchsurfer, this documentary consists entirely of camcorder footage of his day-to-day life. There was no dedicated audio department, so some of the dialogue is barely intelligible if the speaker was not close enough to the microphone. This makes it more difficult to follow some of the scenes, which is why I don't rate it higher.

Having watched the documentary, I wrote the following lyrics as a tribute song to this poor man:

Wesley Willis was a trooper, He was followed in his mind & tortured by imaginary voices, He created art to push them out of his mind.

The Daddy of Rock 'N Roll (4X)

Wesley did not have a good upbringing, His supporters aided him in his march through his tribulations, Many of them are seen in this documentary.

The Daddy of Rock 'N Roll (4X)

Wesley was on too many medications, They have negative long-term cumulative efects, But without them, his mental demons come after him to give him hellrides.

The Daddy of Rock 'N Roll (4X)

Wesley was a lonely trooper, He was a tortured man in a hostile world, Let us honour him for his attempts to contribute something in this life.

Roll over London, Rock on, Chicago It's Bridgestone or nothing.

Not a documentary so much as a day in the life, the lack of traditional narration seen here is both liberating and rough around the edges. The director's hands-off approach, which consists of simply following Wesley around to his various haunts in and around the city of Chicago, gives us a revealing, enlightening look at the chance encounters and everyday stimulus that led to his subject's work. It also gives us a rare opportunity to see Willis precisely as he was, unguarded and genuine. Clearly, the man has struggled with more than his share of problems. Obese, loud and medicated, he attracts wary glances and uneasy smiles at every stop, but appears to have long since left behind any apprehensions and fully embraced his own notoriety. And while the completely open direction of the film does give us a rare chance to know Wesley as the warm, brash, adventurous spirit he really was, it also leaves a lot of questions about his ways disappointingly unanswered. Though the music that ultimately led to his stardom may seem shallow and childish at first glance, a deeper look at its contents and inspirations shed light on what it truly was: a perfect exp​ression of his carefree, prolific character and a fleeting chance to escape the personal demons that chased him throughout his life. Willis makes for a great subject, but I remain undecided on the film itself.

"The Daddy of Rock 'n' Roll" (2003) is okay. But if you consider it as a film from the perspective of Wesley Willis then the grainy footage, lack of clear narrative, and overall 'feel' becomes much more appreciated. It's really a film for diehard fans of the late great Wesley Willis.

The film essentially covers an average day/week in the life of Wesley. Covering his bus rides, thought-process when out in public, music performances, and interactions with his closest friends. The camera quality is low and the scenes typically feel slow yet busy with noise. Whether intentional or not this could've been similar to Wesley's life as there are constant distractions and personal (good and band) interactions with people the whole film.

I liked seeing his writing and recording process, as well as his time spent at a copier store where his profane lyrics are just a normal thing for him to write. And I enjoyed seeing the writing process be followed up with the actual music and lyrics.

But this film does not have a message or goal thus preventing Wesley's life from being properly analyzed. If your not that big of a Wesley Willis fan or of "outsider" art them maybe pass but fans will certainly find some interesting moments throughout the film.

The most triumphant aspect of "The Daddy of Rock 'N' Roll" is how it handles its subject, Wesley Willis. This makers of this documentary could have very easily followed Wesley around for a few weeks and edited together 90 minutes of footage that makes him look like a really fat, schizophrenic clown. In some ways, his music almost begs him to be seen as such - especially when Wesley Willis himself continually calls himself a "Rock and Roll Star" who plays "Rock Music," yet most of his music is his atonal ranting over pre-programmed casio synthesizer accompaniments.

But instead of taking the easy way out, this documentary has an incredible amount of warmth. It's not condescending, and it's not pitiful. Still, the filmmakers show a great deal of genuine concern for their subject.

In fact, everyone in this film has that in common. While Wesley's friends clearly take on somewhat of a caretaker role, they truly respect Wesley, and love him as a friend.

So, in the end you get hilarious moments (it's one thing to see Wesley Willis on a city street, but seeing him in the crisp and cheery Kinko's is hysterical, especially when he tells a frightened employee "I'm about to have a hellride" just because of a minor printing error). You get caring moments (friends encouraging and helping Wesley Willis). And you get telling moments (They visit the school Wesley was in as a child).

And it all adds up to a fulfilling, exploratory documentary about a true artist who was truly plagued by his demons. Sometimes the demons are cruel; sometimes they are funny.

I'm a fan. I find Wesley Willis to be entertaining. I greatly looked forward to this documentary on him but unfortunately I found it quite unwatchable. First of all, if you are unfamiliar with Welsey Willis you don't get a lot of explanation early on about who he is and why he is famous. I suppose this film was geared more towards people who are already fans of his. One problem with the film is that there is no clear, understandable narration to explain things. Instead we hear Welsey's voice a lot, often times not very easy to understand, often times not saying very much worth listening to. Also, the film quality is not very good. It reminded me of the show jackass, kind of looks like there were hidden cameras to follow Wesley around which is not very desirable to watch. You get to see things like Welsey going to a Kinkos to print stuff out which isn't quite as interesting as it might sound. There is a scene where a woman who lived with Wesley offers her stories about him. Unfortunately Wesley is sitting next to her in the interview to interrupt and it's kind of distracting. I remember Wesley was on an episode of Howard Stern's radio show and it was great because Howard and the group provided clear insight about Welsey that I think got lost in this confused film.