All We Are Saying

I pretty much agree with glazedham's review. I will add the following...one of the things that I found most annoying is the fact that Arquette is frequently seen holding a camera while another camera is filming her holding the camera. I don't know why, but this was unbelievably aggravating to me. All in all, I was left with the impression that many of these "artists" have just taken way too many drugs. If their lives are so difficult, I recommend that they get off the stage and go to a part of the world where they can witness real suffering. Hopefully they will take Arquette and her hand-held camera with them. Maybe she will eventually use footage from the hand-held camera as it seems to have served absolutely no purpose in this film.

rosanna arquette has done a brilliant job of taking us inside the very human world of life as a rock star. we finally get to see our musical icons as they see themselves: artists who just happen to be famous and must deal with the business of being an artist. her subtle device is her hand-held camcorder that is both the source of some footage and an insulator between herself and the interviewee--removing most of the congeniality that surely exists while allowing her subjects to speak frankly without pretense. i think what struck me the most is the intelligence, sincerity, and genuineness these people resonate as they talk about how they reside within the music business. these are all such interesting people and i couldn't help but wish documentaries like this accompanied every artist's CD.

rock on, rosanna!

Hearing these musicians and singers speak, reminded me of a recurring scene from "Beavis and Butthead." Whenever Beavis or Butthead would deeply think, an image came up on the screen of a mostly burned out light bulb with a half dead fly buzzing around inside it.

The old rock stars reminded me of dried up tumbleweeds which blow around in the desert on windy days. They spoke of how commercialized the music business is now. They lamented the fact that now it's looks, not talent which make a singer famous. Old rich complainers, jealous of the younger generation of musicians. David Crosby who looks like he's been dead for ten years was especially pathetic. A big empty head with gibberish coming out of it. Patty Smith now looks like a man, mustache and all. She looks like Tom Petty's twin brother without the blonde dye job.

The younger musicians are no better. The guy from "Andre 3000" talked of how he is truly a misunderstood introvert, as he spoke wearing his bright read pants, blue, plaid shirt, Mr. T stater kit jewelry and big puffy hat. Gwen Stefani spoke of the pain no one could understand, the day her assistant was off work and she (gasp)locked herself out of her house.

It's often disappointing to hear public figures speaking their private thoughts, this movie was no exception. It was a portrait of out of touch, insulated, childish, self absorbed dumb people speaking of their rich, pampered and dumb lives. It was particularly annoying to hear these singers and guitar strummers constantly calling themselves "artists." Please! If you enjoy the music of any of these "artists" listed in the credits for this movie, you may want to skip it.

Kudos to Rosanna Arquette though. Every time the camera was panned to her she looked like she was actually enjoying hearing these "artists" speak. That's good acting.

Before I got paid to photograph Hotels and Restaurants (advertising). I spent a good part of the eighty's and ninety's as a photographer in the Music industry. I've traveled with many bands doing tour photography and also was a contributor to many Music magazines. So I've been behind the scenes. Whenever I get a chance to watch these documentaries, esp Vh1 Behind the Music. I sit and watch them to see how much of it is a true realistic look at life in the music industry. I have to admit I think Vh1 Behind the Music is an excellent production (even seen myself in the background a few times). The difference between the Vh1 show and a documentary like All We are Saying (or babbling it should be). Is that Vh1 does their research and gives you an a full history and true account of the artist (good and bad) from beginning to the present. They make it interesting to the viewer to watch. Rosanna Arquette basically just sticks a camera in the faces of these artists and gives them this open forum to ramble on and on and on....30 Min's into it...I thought what is the freakin point of this? I'm falling a sleep here!

I loved hearing Steven Tyler at the very beginning of the film sitting at his mansion complaining about how his record label calls him to tell him his song that was worth a million dollars is now worth 12 cents...cause every ones downloading! But its certainly OK for him to allow the promoters and his record label  to rip his fans off by charging a $150 for an Aerosmith ticket and $20 for a Cd. That's very lame Steven. You have lost my respect.

Many artists in this production I've photographed. I didn't remember them babbling this much when I met them. Maybe..if she would have showed the full interviews or didn't cut away to so many at once. Each interview would have made more sense. The editing in this film is some of the worst I've ever seen. Unless they were trying to make a film that absolutely made no sense whatsoever, and wanted to bore everyone to the point of wanting to slice their wrist to end the pain of watching this very boring film. Then they did a great job...

This film gives you an unusually good look into the creative process, along with frank discussion of the problems and sacrifices that most artists have to deal with and accept in order to keep their creative channels open. The casual use of the cameras facilitates the conversational feel and the directness of the artists communication. Ultimately it allows us to share the experiences of a some great artists in their search for true expression, which is really a universal human need and it certainly evoked some empathy in this writer. Of significance is the clear communication that dedication to their art form, the performance and sharing of their music is much more important to them than the money they earn.