In one of many flavorful TV interview excerpts from the band’s prime in Devo, they identify themselves as aliens who have come down to Earth in UFOs with the aim of cultural infiltration. With their red plastic “energy dome” flowerpot helmets and utilitarian uniforms that look like kids’ home-made spacesuits, the group could almost pass for interplanetary messengers, preaching change as an urgent gospel for late 20th century America in rapid regression. As one member says: “We already felt like humans were insane, so for people to be enlightened, something had to happen.”
Anyone familiar with Devo solely through their 1980 monster hit “Whip It,” or even a handful of other heyday bangers like “Beautiful World,” “Working in the Coalmine,” “Girl U Want” or “Freedom of Choice,” will likely find Chris Smith’s propulsive documentary enlightening as well as vigorously entertaining.
At one point after the group’s classic lineup had undergone changes,...
Anyone familiar with Devo solely through their 1980 monster hit “Whip It,” or even a handful of other heyday bangers like “Beautiful World,” “Working in the Coalmine,” “Girl U Want” or “Freedom of Choice,” will likely find Chris Smith’s propulsive documentary enlightening as well as vigorously entertaining.
At one point after the group’s classic lineup had undergone changes,...
- 1/24/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Plot: The story of new wave band Devo, who rose to fame from their smash hit “Whip It.”
Review: If all you know about the band Devo is that they were those guys in the weird hats singing “Whip It,” you need to check out this doc from Chris Smith. In addition to making the cult fave American Movie, Smith has made several notable music documentaries over the years, including the recent Netflix documentary about Wham, but he has unique subjects here.
To put it bluntly, the members of Devo are among the most unlikely rock stars of all time. The brainchild of Kent State art students Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis, along with their friend Mark Mothersbaugh, the band began as a performance art satire. In early shows, they would play droning sounds and punish their audience, with Devo short for de-evolution, which was their take on the culture.
Review: If all you know about the band Devo is that they were those guys in the weird hats singing “Whip It,” you need to check out this doc from Chris Smith. In addition to making the cult fave American Movie, Smith has made several notable music documentaries over the years, including the recent Netflix documentary about Wham, but he has unique subjects here.
To put it bluntly, the members of Devo are among the most unlikely rock stars of all time. The brainchild of Kent State art students Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis, along with their friend Mark Mothersbaugh, the band began as a performance art satire. In early shows, they would play droning sounds and punish their audience, with Devo short for de-evolution, which was their take on the culture.
- 1/24/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Devo, the rock band best known for 1980 hit “Whip It,” is getting the documentary treatment.
The project marks the first authorized documentary about the band, which featured the classic lineup of Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, Gerald and Bob Casales and Alan Myers.
Chris Smith, who directed Netflix’s Fyre, about the troubled Fyre Festival, and Tiger King, will helm the doc.
It comes from BMG, Fremantle Documentaries, and Warner Music Entertainment with Vice Studios and Library Films producing in association with Mutato Entertainment.
The untitled doc, which is currently in production, tells the story of the band that formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973, in the wake of the Kent State massacre.
It will feature a mix of archival footage and interviews from other characters in their orbit.
Producers include Anita Greenspan and Chris Holmes for Mutato Entertainment, exec produers are William Kennedy, Stuart Souter, and Kathy Rivkin Daum for BMG,...
The project marks the first authorized documentary about the band, which featured the classic lineup of Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, Gerald and Bob Casales and Alan Myers.
Chris Smith, who directed Netflix’s Fyre, about the troubled Fyre Festival, and Tiger King, will helm the doc.
It comes from BMG, Fremantle Documentaries, and Warner Music Entertainment with Vice Studios and Library Films producing in association with Mutato Entertainment.
The untitled doc, which is currently in production, tells the story of the band that formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973, in the wake of the Kent State massacre.
It will feature a mix of archival footage and interviews from other characters in their orbit.
Producers include Anita Greenspan and Chris Holmes for Mutato Entertainment, exec produers are William Kennedy, Stuart Souter, and Kathy Rivkin Daum for BMG,...
- 3/22/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
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