The Allins (2017) User Reviews

The Real GG

[petersmovieposters-36377 · 8/10 · 21 December 2018]

I'm assuming if you're looking at this film you know who G.G. Allin is, if not, suffice to say he's possibly one of the most, shall we say, notorious, rockers of the '80s and 90s. Here, we're given a far more intimate look at G.G. than was seen in Hated, spending quality time with his brother and mother which gives us a better understanding of just what made the Mr. Allin tick.

Focusing more on the man than the music, although there's plenty of performance footage (including prime scatological bits), I came away feeling like I understand what was really going on in those turbulent years prior to his untimely death. From rock icon to posthumous marketing machine G.G. will live with the immortals, which I suppose just might have made him happy.

You might need to know some history of the Allin experience to fully make this movie work but if you do, it's well worth watching.

Great companion piece to "Hated."

[parasolspetticoats · 8/10 · 11 November 2020]

I've always been fascinated by GG Allin. I think if you're familiar with him, or you are now after seeing this documentary, you know why.

I own Hated, I've seen plenty of live footage, interviews and talk show appearances with GG and Merle, as well. I was familiar with their childhood, the existing incarnation of the Murder Junkies, Merle's online presence and merchandise, etc. But I have never seen the actual people behind the sensational, antisocial mystique of GG Allin.

You can't make this documentary and not have GG as a focal point or driving theme, but I appreciated the fact that the story primarily held true to the the tile: "The Allins."

Their mother is what most would hope a mom would be; someone that loves unconditionally. Merle was humanized and I can't believe it, almost vulnerable. I think it could be easy to assume he's been riding his late brother's excrement-soaked coattails, but it seems as though he genuinely wants to keep his legacy alive and just misses his best friend.

I think this is an efficient, tight and surprisingly tender doc about an infamous figure in music history. Great for fans and curious newcomers.

The filthiest person ever?

[roakie72 · 7/10 · 4 September 2021]

With apologies to Babs Johnson, GG Allin was basically the filthiest person to ever gain celebrity status. Watching footage of him is stomach churning. But I doubt that would come as a surprise, or a deterrent, to anyone who would watch this doc. If you were able to watch the much more graphic "Hated" documentary you'l be fine with this one. And if you're a fan, for some perverse reason, you'll get a kick out of this. But other than that, this doc really does present some interesting juxtapositions. What goes on in the mind of the relatively normal, mild mannered mother of that filthy person? What happens when the fantasy of "sex drugs and rock and roll" confronts the reality of sitting in a Pizza Hut or paying your rent? How does a mother reconcile her natural love of her child with the fact that that little boy grew up to be GG Allin? For those reasons this documentary is very interesting. This film tries so hard to present him as a 3 dimensional human being with a family and emotions and frailties like all the rest of us, but with someone so thoroughly vile and repugnant and hate filled, it's a difficult sell.

GG Allin made Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten look like Disney characters.

[Queenbee60 · 10/10 · 15 October 2019]

I had never heard of GG Allin before I saw this documentary. My idea of punk music was the Clash and maybe a few songs by the Sex Pistols. So I wasn't prepared for this. Allin was dedicated to thumbing his nose (actually throwing his feces) at authority. He was the definitive 'hardcore' punk; who wasn't just destructive and violent onstage, but seemed driven by unseen demons off it. Some of the songs are quite good, and perhaps would've been classics with better production. Harden by his violent childhood, he seemed to be both possessed and cursed in a downward spiral of self-destruction. Unfortunately his behavior would affect his private life, yet even that didn't cause him to soften his image. His fans, a dedicated bunch, annually expressed their admiration for him by urinating on his tombstone. You don't have to be into this music to appreciate the documentary. But it's worth watching, to see a man so engrossed into his art, that it totally overtakes him.

Oddly Sweet & Sentimental

[nitro72 · 5/10 · 14 January 2019]

Considering its subject is the notoriously controversial punk musician GG Allin, this short doc is oddly sweet & sentimental (mainly due to GG's mother being a main focus), but it leaves too many topics underdeveloped.

Reality TV version

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 26 July 2020]

After the death of GG Allin - covered in Hated - what happened to his brother Merle? And did he leave behind any family? How would you feel if you were the mother of the rocker who left behind a trail of feces, blood, vomit and noise? Originally airing on Showtime, this documentary by Sami Saif attempts to answer that question.

This is probably. the most heartwarming story I've ever seen that has a scene here someone takes a dump and uses it as paint.

The strangest thing for me was seeing the life of GG, as he grew up and was in young bands. The image burned into my mind of him is his almost inhuman visage by the time of Hated, distorted by multiple VHS bootlegs, to the point where he almost seems like a demon. To see what he looked like before all the self-destruction and to hear his mother's pain is pretty intense.

By the way, GG's mom's best male friend just hanging out and being supportive is my favorite part. I can only imagine the stories that that poor man has had to listen to.

Faux-documentary

[weems-63-73506 · 1/10 · 6 April 2019]

Mildly interesting as a study of how people cover up their own weaknesses by admiring horrendous sociopaths, but as a documentary this proves pretty inauthentic. With staged segments that resemble more like so-called reality television, and utterly doctored footage of GG Allin, don't expect an honest view of the subject matter.

Don't waste your time...

[tbuestrin · 1/10 · 26 March 2020]

If you like watching old juvenile's play with their own waste then enjoy. Otherwise...these are useless human beings that offered nothing to society or even their own family. Gg Allin was a total fool...