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

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 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.

Band documentaries are tough, because you want to hear the music and see 30+ years of historical footage, but also hear the story telling and interviews. This documentary does a good job balancing, and doesn't tiptoe around the drugs and lifestyle.

Not too much romanticizing the times, not too many hippy dippy claims of enlightenment or tying some meaning to a 'cosmic coincidence', meahn. But also not a lot of new information aside from very personal family stuff. I'd like to have heard more about writing songs and making some of the albums, but it's pretty good. 3.4 stars

Truly Bob Weir has a colorful story, starting with The Merry Pranksters at age 16 and continuing through three decades of the Dead. Avid Deadheads will love this film. Unfortunately for this fan, Bob concentrates on his role as Jerry's buddy, the chick magnet of the band and the vegan spiritualist survivor. Other than Garcia's health problems, he glosses over conflict within The Dead, including efforts of other band members to dismiss him and Pigpen as musically weak. There's not much music in the film and the band's change in musical direction hardly gets mentioned. It's okay; The Dead was and will always be special, but this documentary doesn't fill the bill.