Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies
Director: Todd Phillips
Year Released: 1993
Rating: 2.5
Slight but oddly fascinating peek at the tragically short life of punk rocker GG Allin and his 'performance art,' which included attacking the audience, defecating on the ground during shows (and wiping it on himself and others) and typically getting arrested or managing to avoid the police. No mention is made of Allin's antics being remotely similar to the Vienna Actionists - whose 'aktions' were far more graphic and perverse - and Allin's vast discography (and history of playing with different bands) is all but ignored - but Phillips is mostly interested in the grotesquery of the shows, and to that end he does a fine job. Allin, to my eyes at least, was a sad poet, not 'clinically insane' but certainly self-hating, and his growing disgust with the 'safety' of rock and roll and his lack of concern over his physical state led to his demise from a drug overdose (which is alluded to during the super shaky footage of his final show in NYC which led to a mini-riot).
