New York Doll

i just saw a really good movie.

if you were looking for that faith promoting movie, you should probably look somewhere besides that Work and the Glory stuff. i just saw the movie you really want to see.

where else can you see:
mormon bishops & punk rockers
family history missionaries & iggy pop
a lesson on hometeaching & cross dressers
not to mention a band that inspired kiss, the clash, blondie, morrissey, motley crue and poison, and a final closing hymn from the LDS hymn book from such an unlikely source?

i just saw a special screening of a documentary that played at this year's Sundance Film Festival, New York Doll, the story of Arthur "Killer" Kane, the former bass-player of the New York Dolls. Kane worked his way through rehab, found the LDS church and just wanted another chance to get his band together again.

the movie was great. i would like to see it again. New York Doll is playing this weekend at the Broadway Theatre in SLC.

the movie is so good. go see it.

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i saw the movie at a special screening with KUER's RadioWest. KUER hosted the movie at the Tower Theater in Salt Lake. Before the exhibition of the film, RadioWest broadcast an hour-long program about the film, Kane and his band, and their history and impact on the music industry. All of us seated in the theater were the audience for the radio broadcast and the movie, and all of it was free. (Unfortunately RadioWest does not maintain an online archive so you can't go back and hear the program.)

This is a picture of the band back in the day. Arthur "Killer" Kane is the furthest on the left.

i was so happy that i got to see this film and hear the radio program live. i knew that this film was automatically in my top ten favourites. i'm posting the review that i wrote on Netflix.com below.

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After I saw New York Doll, this movie was all I could think about for the next few days. I went to the movie because of my interest in rock history and a curiosity as to how someone found a new faith, but I had no idea how much this movie would affect me. Although New York Doll was made possible because of the cultural significance of a rock band, you don't have to be a rock history geek to appreciate the heart of this movie.

Regardless of your familiarity with the musicians interviewed or your sympathy with any religious faith, New York Doll bridges the possible gaps by focusing in on the central human hope of finding redemption and purpose in life. The first views of Arthur "Killer" Kane, the central figure of the movie, presents a man who seems worn out and rather fried from a life involved in a long chain of disappointments and substance abuse. Soon enough you find out the ironic ability that Kane possesses. This broken man has a way of bringing people together and can somehow inspire hope and gratitude for such simple things. The one searching for healing becomes a healer.

Just as the musicians interviewed for this documentary, you will be won over by Kane's humble expressions of his fears, his troubles, his faith and the happiness he finds in the middle of his own poverty. If you are a fan of rock music of any sorts, SEE THIS FILM. If you are looking for a connection to the human soul, SEE THIS FILM!!!