Bad Charlotte!
Now Good Charlotte are one of those bands that can be seen in different lights. Some people like to think of them as being run-of-the-mill pop/punk that has nothing special to offer in a tired genre; others may suggest that they are a band that evolves and tries hard to come with something a little new and slightly alternative; and then there is what I think...I was a big fan of Good Charlotte's first two albums as for me although it was pop/punk there were some dark lyrics and the flash of heavy guitars, however from there they tried to be a little too arty, and inventive of a sound that has flashes of everything from pop to goth to indie to new romantics.
This DVD is a long documentary following the boys on their 2005 Japanese tour including interviews, live performances and an insight into the individuals themselves. However you see the band, and whatever your feelings towards them, Good Charlotte are predominantly the two twins Benji and Joel Madden. Most of the DVD surrounds these two, and even Benji himself says, "No one will ever be as close to us as we are to each other. It's just the way it is, and the other guys know this." And this is seen with the promotional activities and/or the general relaxed period whereby they meet friends from tours before, as we see that the other guys are nowhere to be seen...
There is the build up to their first show which we see the backstage antics, before a couple of short live performances which start live and then mix in with the original recordings. This only shows what a bad show this is and although the music isn't too bad, Joel's voice is particularly poor, and for me this just isn't good enough. Thankfully the band agree and we have scenes of their disappointment whereby Joel wants to just leave without signing autographs, however thankfully the rest of the band comply with the demands of the people that help them buy the 'brass knuckles hanging from their neck by a chain'!
Within the tour we see Paul Thomas more closely and understand that he wants to be a music producer, and compose music for film soundtracks. We see that he has a natural talent for music and learn of the many instruments that he can play, and there is a little voice in the back of your head wondering how long it will be before he realises that his potential lies a lot deeper than this band. In the same vein this could be said for Billy Martin, a fantastic artist, who spends the journeys and hours between gigs on his PC designing pictures, graphics either for himself or to help promote the band. It's not that I am disrespecting Benji and Joel as they obviously have a lot of drive and ambition, however having seen them live myself, the vocals and guitar is not the bands strong point, and both Paul and Billy are far more articulate when speaking that it's almost criminal that they are either not at the interviews, or look like their place is to remain silent whilst Benji answers the questions.
All in all it's a nice insight into Good Charlotte but probably doesn't tell you too much more than you already know about the band. The DVD goes on for 90 minutes of which only about 5 minutes is actual live footage. There are no music videos, and there are a lot of times of silent, or you can't hear responses to questions because the mic isn't close enough, and on top of this there are areas in Japanese, and a lot of 'arty' shots, and times when colour will suddenly pop into the predominantly black and white film - all this makes quite hard viewing, that even the most die-hard fan may not bother watching this more than once.
The highlights of the DVD are: Joel talking about how bad other celebrities are and the guy next to him trying to remain as non-committal as possible by ignoring all of Joel's attempts to make him agree with him, whilst looking decidedly uncomfortable; the scary jewellery guy who appears to have been affected by drugs from the 60's, who goes on to say that he's met every iconic person in music that Benji can name; and Joel larking around before Live 8.
So to clarify, it's alright and will shift loads in Japan, but unless you're Japanese, or a real big, big Good Charlotte fan, then quite frankly I wouldn't bother!