Kurt & Courtney

I think that this is a very sad movie. It should have been called "Jerry Springer Casting Session with Two Scenes of Courtney Love." Like how bored was Nick Broomfield? I think that he is obsessed with Courtney because he was acting like a stalker and following her around. I wish she would have gotten ahold of him. He totally wussed out several times when he could have talked to her and maybe gotten a real answer for his banal and cliched crapumentary. Instead he just interviewed weirdo after weirdo. He has nothing better to do than trash Courtney Love and blame her for everything. I think it was very funny to watch all the overdramatic people he found for this movie. It was like "Waiting For Guffman Part 2" except "Kurt & Courney" was not intended to be funny and suprisingly no one in the movie worked at a Dairy Queen. He acts like he is horrified of Courtney and we should all be afraid fo her. I think the movie clearly showed that she just wants to put the past in the past and move on with her life without some idiots following her around picketing about her dead husband.

Kurt & Courtney (1998)

*** (out of 4)

Nick Broomfield's controversial documentary on the suicide of Kurt Cobain and the conspiracy theories around whether or not Courtney Love had him murdered. This is an incredibly strange documentary that has "witnesses" that no lawyer in the world would put on the stand but at the same time there's no question that the film will keep you glued to what you're watching. It's hard to say how much truth is found in this documentary or if everything here is nothing more that cruel gossip but I must say that it's rather obvious that Broomfield hates Love. There are a lot of problems with this documentary with the main one being Broomfield's attacks on Love at every chance he gets. It's clear he wants to know whether or not Love killed Cobain but I think there are quite a few cheap shots taken at her. The director is constantly saying how he wanted to use certain music but Love wouldn't allow it. Well, duh. Any music rights owner isn't going to let you freely use something so considering this film ran out of backers it's clear that they wouldn't have had the money to buy the music even if they were for sale. There's an episode at the end when the director could have asked her a question but didn't and instead gets on a stage and does it in public. Another cheap shot. With that said, the murder conspiracy is just something hard to wrap your brain around. Even if it was true, the witnesses here are cracked out heroin addicts so it's really hard to take what they say as the truth. You could argue that Kurt and Courtney were a part of this crowd, which I guess would be fair but I do wonder what motive some of these people had. It's clear that Love's father hates his daughter so his motives are certain. Others claim that they're terrified of Love yet they come out and say she murdered Kurt. No matter what your opinion on the truth is, it's hard to take any real evidence out of this documentary.

As a hopeless britfreak/anglophile, I am a fan of documentarian Nick Broomfield. However, I have only seen three of his films. For some reason, the majority of his films don't seem to be available for rent.

I enjoyed Kurt & Courtney. The film's hype seemed to laughably imply that 'Courtney did it'!in regards to Kurt's demise. Okay, she does have a slight anger management problem, but that's beside the point.

The implication seemed to be that she hired someone to off Kurt. But, the film goes off in other directions, and outshines the sensationalistic hype.

The low key Broomfield gently and intelligently guides his subjects; they let down their guard; they humorously reveal themselves and their versions of the truth.

At times, Broomfield's films make one feel like a rubbernecker perusing a car accident; like a TV viewer watching America's Most Shocking Videos; sometimes we just cannot help ourselves.

Kurt's tragic life and personal demons are revealed, as are Courtney's. Family, friends, and people in the Seattle grunge music scene are interviewed. A murder plot of sorts is investigated. Courtney's antagonism towards mainstream media is explored.

I found Kurt & Courtney to be fascinating and entertaining.

Why this film was bad:

As a film that seemed like it was going to shed some light on the death of Kurt Cobain, it failed miserably. Nothing new about that subject appeared.

Why I liked it:

Almost everyone in this film seemed like a cartoon character ... if I didn't know this was a documentary, I would have thought this was a parody of one. *Almost* everyone seemed incredibly ridiculous: El Duce (the man apparently approached by Love to kill Cobain), ex-groupies, the nanny, Love's ex-lover, and the paparazzi who appear from time to time (especially the one with ridiculous mask over his head to protect his identity). Even Nick Broomfield, the director of the film, seems like a little bit strange ... this almost seems like a documentary that would take place in the world of one of David Lynch's films. In this respect, it is entertaining, and funny.

Not being particularly interested in either Kurt or Courtney, I was surprised how director Nick Broomfield managed to attract me to his film. His unique style gets us involved with the story that no one really knows where it's going. Not even the director himself. This may prove frustrating to those who have become accustomed to polished and hollywoodized type of film making, or those who are looking for a clear "angle". To me however, it was a wonderful gallery of many slices of real life: from director's own challenges to one of the best documentary film endings I've ever seen.

Hats off to Nick Broomfield for his uncompromising style and bravery.