The Go-Go's (2020)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Why aren’t The Go-Go’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Alison Ellwood’s fantastic year of telling overlooked stories in the music business continues, as she follows up her Emmy-nominated Laurel Canyon documentary with this fearless, nothing-to-hide look at one of the 1980’s most iconic and influential bands.
By just telling us all the good, bad, and in between, the Go-Go’s honesty and straight-forward storytelling makes them relatable, likable, and perhaps just as important - real.
NO
I suppose if you are not a fan of their music, or familiar with the band, this may not be of much interest.
In a world that loves gossip and salacious details, the band’s meteoric rise gets a lot of attention, but the unraveling and eventual break-up of the band is rushed through rather quickly.
For a rebellious, groundbreaking group of women who overcome so many obstacles, a conventional, talking-head documentary feels a little disappointing.
OUR REVIEW
Alison Ellwood’s long overdue celebration of The Go-Go’s, the subject of her latest documentary, is an unflinching and honest look at the meteoric rise and rather sudden fall of the only all-girl group to play their own instruments, write their own songs, and land a #1 album on the Billboard 200 album chart.
That feat, and the Go-Go’s in general, seems lost in the discussion of influential pop/rock music artists of the last several decades. Ellwood convincingly lays out the history of the band, told by current and former members, and documents just what an uphill climb they had to endure, the perils of fame, and the fragility of ego, excess, and fame which cannibalized them after three album releases.
Working backwards, Ellwood closes her film asking why the band is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And, I mean…yeah - arguments against their inclusion largely don’t hold up. People may point to a relatively short window of time in the spotlight (1980-1985), five Top 40 hits and just two Top 10 albums. While not the most dynamic of chart histories, The Go-Go’s influence on female-driven alternative rock, and the pop/punk music that dominated radio stations in the mid-1990s, has been almost incalculable.
Ellwood walks us through how lead singer Belinda Carlisle and rhythm guitarist Jane Wiedlin bonded over a mutual love of punk rock, becoming absorbed in a counterculture of bands, fans, and thoughts and ideas. Together, along with bassist Margot Olavarria and drummer Elissa Bello, they decided to form a rock band and figure out all the actual playing of music stuff as they went along.
Their determination paid off and Ellwood includes great footage and photos of the Go-Go’s in their earliest incarnations, literally figuring out their presentation, instrumentation, sound, and look from day one.
Interviews with Olavarria and Bello are a nice surprise, as well as the band’s former manager Ginger Canzoneri, sharing her stories of being embedded with the band who went from playing in front of 10 people to 10,000 people in a matter of a couple years.
The Go-Go’s is a “talking heads” documentary but Ellwood has the current band members look directly into the camera, while former band members and others are shot from the side. It is an interesting technique as Ellwood places the band in direct connection with the viewer. Their honesty is refreshing. Stories of in-fighting, disagreements, drug addiction, and living recklessly are told with varying degrees of humility, laughter, and reflection. Charlotte Caffey, who joined shortly after the band formed as lead guitarist and keyboardist, shares the struggles she had with a secret, but debilitating heroin addiction which drove her away from her bandmates and created problems as the main songwriter (with Wiedlin) for the band.
As Olavarria and Bello recount their emotions surrounding their respective departures from the band, you see them bristle. Words become curt and cut off. There is palpable emotion still present all these years later. Kathy Valentine would replace Olavarria on bass guitar, never having played bass previously, while Gina Schock would replace Bello. Soon, The Go-Go’s were off to the races.
In the midst of their whirlwind accomplishments, Canzoneri would be dismissed as well. And those stories, and the eventual breakup of the band in 1985 not only underscores how much of a cutthroat place the music business can be, but also the pressure placed upon women to make the perfect choice - wear the perfect clothes - write and sing the perfect song - and never misstep in the public eye whatsoever.
More time could have been given to what came after the band’s breakup. Wiedlin announces her departure on the eve of a world tour, and completes the tour, despite her intentions. A series of lawsuits and settlements between band members, Carlisle’s multi-platinum solo career with Caffey as contributor, Wiedlin’s fleeting pop stardom…all are moments rushed through.
At the end, things are positive. The band reunited for the film and wrote and produced “Club Zero,” the end credits song and first new single released by The Go-Go’s in nearly 20 years. Older, wiser, and seemingly all in good places, The Go-Go’s finds a band that has persevered. Perhaps this film and the buzz surrounding it can finally deliver the accolades and recognition they so richly deserve.
CAST & CREW
Documentary Featuring: Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine, Elissa Bello, Ginger Canzoneri, Margot Olavarria, Miles Copeland, Kathleen Hanna, Paula Jean Brown, Stewart Copeland, Lynval Golding.
Director: Alison Ellwood
Release Date: July 31, 2020
Showtime Networks