The Go-Goâs documentary is honest and outstanding
Alison Ellwoodâs film on the L.A.-based, all-female band pulls no punches and shows why they were so successful, revolutionary and influential.
Author:
By John Curley
The Go-Go’s, the new documentary by filmmaker Alison Ellwood that chronicles the rise and fall and rise again of the Los Angeles-based, all-female band, premieres on Showtime on Friday, July 31st, at 9 p.m. Eastern. The film is brutally honest. It pulls no punches, and it presents The Go-Go’s as something of a dysfunctional family that worked really well together and made some terrific music despite the dysfunction. While the bulk of the documentary concentrates on the band’s pop-rock successes by the best known lineup – lead vocalist Belinda Carlisle, guitarist Jane Wiedlin, guitarist/keyboardist Charlotte Caffey, bassist Kathy Valentine and drummer Gina Shock – it does give a comprehensive history of the band that starts with their roots in the Los Angeles punk community. Bits of early, punky songs by the band are heard, including a diatribe aimed at