Beautiful Losers (Aaron Rose andJoshua Leonard. 2008)
Rating: 3.4
Beautiful Losers is a collection of interviews from various artists and creative minds influenced by DYI , graffiti, skateboard and punk rock, including Mike Mills, Harmony Korine, Ed Templeton, Geoff McFetridge and others. It is meant to inspire as well as celebrate their work. Aside from the really faddy stuff that all looks the same, that you see on every graphic t-shirt these days, I do enjoy a lot of the work these artist's have done, however this format makes for a very uninteresting cinematic experience. It pretty much encapsulates everything I hate about documentaries. It mostly consists of stock footage, interviews with stuttering awkward responses and collages of artwork, but not much information in return. I'd much rather see their art for myself in person or read up on these artists on my own than see it presented in such a format, and anyone into their work should already be inspired by them. The film only briefly touches on a worthwhile subject when it addresses the "controversial" subject of the value of pop art, commercial art, community service signs, corporate advertising, and how each can be used as a medium to perpetuate underground art. I definitely wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone, unless they were really into this group of creative people.
