Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Not all of us who toil in some part of the "arts sector" are blessed with instant success. Many of us work hard for years, watch our peers go on to international glory, and wonder if we should put away the paint brush, or the camera, or the violin, and get a "real job." The kind of job our dentist uncle might at least recognize as such, if not entirely approve of. And yet, we persevere. Sooner or later, we figure, it will turn around for us. We'll make something that will break through, that will reveal our genius to the world.

I know plenty of people for whom I doubt it will ever happen, and plenty more in between - those like me, who make an honest living in some semi-artistic, semi-commercial enterprise. Many of us hope for more, but sometimes it's hard to keep the dream alive.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil is for all of us.

The story, in a nutshell: two guys meet in high school at the age of 14. They form a band, practically invent a whole subgenre of heavy metal, sell some records, play a few really big shows, and then fade into obscurity, watching the bands they influenced - Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer - sell millions of records and become superstars. Now, 25 years after their last successful record, it turns out they're still at it: two guys past the age of 50, working joe jobs to feed their families, and still pursuing the rock'n'roll dream. Now, they're about to make one last push for success.

Given the Flying-V guitars, the shoulder-length curly locks, the tight pants... and, oh yeah, the crushingly loud guitars and bombastic lyrics, you'd think this is going to be some kind of real-life This Is Spinal Tap. And certainly there are elements thereof. At the start of the film, guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow explains his job at a school-lunch catering company in a manner not unfamiliar to fans of Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins. But then the story turns. Lips and his lifelong best friend, drummer Robb Reiner, reveal more of themselves. They are honest, hard-working guys who love their wives and children, and whose slightly baffled middle-class Jewish families have stuck by them. They know the door is closing on them, if it hasn't closed already (the audience is pretty sure it closed somewhere around 1986), but they just can't bear to give up.

Do Lips and Robb get the Hollywood ending they deserve? Suffice to say the film has a Hollywood structure that befits its Hollywood director, Sacha Gervasi (who made this film because of his own Almost Famous-like history with the band). But it's still a documentary, and E.T. does not necessarily get to go home. Some people I talked to after the screening felt the film was entirely too predictable, that nothing unexpected happened. And as far as the story goes, that may be true. But I disagree: the unexpected thing is the characters - the guys are real, emotional, and completely open with the camera.

The great virtues of this film are not in the structure (which, actually, works very well, as Hollywood structure generally does). They're in the story that comes out in between the expected beats: the strains on the almost 40-year friendship, the pressures and joys of family, and Lips Kudlow's seemingly inexhaustible well of optimism and hope. How can you not root for a guy like that, even if he is a bit of a putz?

Ultimately, a good part of the reason I had a lump in my throat for much of the last third of the film is that it's a story about not giving up. There is great virtue in plugging away at what you love, and trying to get better, and just plain refusing to quit. For anyone who has a bit of Lips and Robb inside them, this is a moving, inspiring film.

P.S. Anvil! The Story of Anvil was the opening-night film at Hot Docs. More from the festival anon.