Hated: GG Allin & the Murder Junkies

Is the GG Allin seen on-screen in this doco the "real" GG Allin? Frankly, THAT remains to be seen because GG on camera is a different GG to the guy who appeared occasionally at LA's Mondo-Video-A-Go-Go and shot the breeze with The Colonel, the store's proprietor.

The GG essayed on film by Todd Phillips is a force of angry nature, a punk with no discernible talent for music but a blazing talent for notoriety, anarchy and illegality.

What a true warts-and-all docu this is. Its jagged, freewheeling style perfectly mirrors the personal style of its fascinating subject. GG isn't likable in a standard way, but he's a damn courageous nutbag and intensely interesting for the angst he peddles.

Interviews with Deano (the naked drummer), brother Merle (with his Hitler moustache) and ex-members of GG's band, The Murder Junkies, are priceless. Also of bottomless merit is a wild clip where GG gets wasted, heads to a party and pays some skank to urinate into his mouth.

The concert footage is gold, and so is one live performance where a mean-spirited GG (is there any other kind?) slashes himself up and begs a female fan to finish the job. For her efforts, the fan cops a beating.

An interview with GG's old school principal, a vague ex-Hippie, is unforgettable.

One of the best rock docos going and entertaining from beginning to end.

Director Phillips, who also did the disturbing SCREWED, now directs Hollywood forgettables such as ROAD TRIP and OLD SCHOOL.

GG Allin was easily one of the most unpleasant and untalented individuals in the annals of rock music. He was crude, violent and utterly insane. Seeing him live was more like seeing a side-show Geek than going to a show. He hurled feces, he assaulted the audience, he was usually beaten up or arrested before the show even started... yet, there will always be a certain part of me that will miss him.

GG was a force, a wild ride rather than an individual. He demonstrated a total lack of empathy for other human beings and I believe people who say that he probably would have been a serial killer if he had not become an 'artist.'

However, regardless of an of this, Todd Phillips documentary on the man is utterly brilliant. It passes no judgment on the man or his music, but documents a phenomenon. Phillips looks at GG with unflinching honesty and does not try to sugarcoat the reality of the disturbed individual who lashed out at the world around him.

If you have any interest in documentaries and how they SHOULD be done, look no farther than Hated, which is an honest and serious look at the psychopathology of one lone outsider.

First off, let me say that I found "Hated" to be a very entertaining film, and I believe that G.G. Allin was as legitimate an American folksinger as Leadbelly or Woody Guthrie (his material was more, ummm...specialized, but listen to 'Gypsy Motherf*cker', 'Liquor-Slicked Highway', or 'Shove That Warrant Up Your Ass' to get an idea of what I'm talking about). But rather than being a balanced portrait, "Hated" is largely a performance. Some people will just respond, "So?" after reading that. But it matters because this film takes itself soooooo seriously. There are serious moments in it, of course, but there's a lot of humor as well...and a lot of artifice on Allin's part. Did he have a horrible childhood? Yes, by all accounts. Was there a time when his onstage antics were more sincere than when "Hated" was filmed? Yes--just check out the archival footage of his spoken-word performance in Boston in 1988; he wasn't kidding around. (Actually, the excerpts featured in the film don't even reveal all of the embarrassing, frightening, and nakedly emotional moments of that performance; you'll have to track down a bootleg video or DVD to see the whole enchilada.) But why, at thirty-six or thirty-seven--when you're out of prison and looking relatively healthy, and you've achieved at least some level of notoriety--do you still feel the need to cut yourself, eat your own sh*t, and beat up your fans? The answer is that G.G. Allin apparently DIDN'T want to do this anymore. Just before his death, according to biographer Joe Coughlin, Allin said that he wanted to retire from the punk scene and go into country music. And why not? When you're approaching forty, you simply can't withstand the kind of self-abuse that Allin's fans had come to expect. But he soldiered on for another couple of years, doing precisely what WAS expected of him, and died because of it (if indirectly). G.G. Allin had a natural, genuine talent, but he painted himself into a corner pretty early on. He loved his daughter, was a fan of Captain Kangaroo and at one time had a damned fine singing voice. The monstrous character that he played--and sometimes became--was interesting, but it's a shame that "Hated" lets us see only that facet of his personality.

GG was talentless , GG was insane , GG was disturbed..yep thats all true. The man had no talent (even though I have all his albums..funny stuff)..he was basically just this hateful defiant violent person that didn't give a damn about his life or anyone elses. Todd Phillips disturbing documentary takes us into his world of defiance and destruction. It features some insane characters besides GG ..like Dino the naked drummer who exposed himself to a little girl only to reply "I was just teasing her"..and Allin's weirdo brother Merle with his scary moustache. Includes some very sick scenes , but the most disturbing has got to be the final concert at the Gas Station in New York..it is undescrible but almost a chaotic barrage of nudity , rioting , violence , and a search for heroin that would kill him the next day. No one will ever hold a candle to this sick individual ..maybe thats a good thing

There's nothing I could say or any review here that could prepare you for the wild ride documentary of this man's life. Not being a fan, I couldn't appreciate nor see any talent as maybe his admirers would, still though, this is very intriguing. If you want to see a man who lived his life to the very edge of extremity and brink of insanity, I present G.G. Allin. Punk Rock, Death Metal, Satanic or White Supremicist Rock Groups all look like a PBS program for pre-schoolers compared to this man. I suppose the one question we ask ourselves while watching this, as you realize you actually are watching is, "shouldn't this guy be institutionalized?" There's some very deserving folks locked away for lesser reasons, yet because he was classified (by some) as a performer, he was free to be exposed (and expose himself) to the general population and even entertain. Like Lenny Bruce, G. G. Allin doesn't apologize for its shock value. This is serious stuff, not for the weak and yes, you will be disturbed with its content. As a documentary it does pull you in and well presents G. G. to a point where you understand his point of view and in some odd way sympathize with his way of thinking and living. He lived a harsh life and it was his way of expressing outrage and coping in society with equal disgust. Like an animal on display at a zoo, you wonder what the animal thinks of you might better describe his act. If you ever wanted a taste of the wild side this is as close as you'll get without being there and might appreciate your quiet life more once seeing it. It's more than a documentary, it's an experience, one that will haunt and disturb you long after. So before you dismiss this as just a story of an insane and sickening man claiming to be an entertainer, watch it with an open mind and a good stomach, you'll definitely need it, and be happy you survived. This is as gritty as you'll see outside a snuff film.