New York Doll
“Some bands grab you and they never let you go and, no matter what they do, they can never let you down...the Dolls were that for me.” -- Morrissey (The Smiths)
Sweet. Gentle. Self-effacing. Mormon. None of these words immediately come to mind when invoking the name of the New York Dolls, the cross-dressing glam/trash band that were the true progenitors of punk years before the CBGBs crowd co-opted New Yawk attitude and made it into a cultural movement. But these words do come to mind after watching NEW YORK DOLL, a deceptively simple documentary that’s a surprising rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale focusing on Dolls’ bass player, Arthur “Killer” Kane.
New York Dolls, 1973
Alcoholism, heroin addiction, personality conflicts and general rock star stupidity killed the Dolls as a band, but during their short reign as underground darlings they inspired an entire generation of musicians and left their mark like lipstick on a broken wine glass – a sign of tawdry glamour in a fractured decade. Kane, who lived for his band and its music, took the breakup hard, and, drowning himself in booze, lost his wife and nearly his life when he threw himself out of a third story window. But unlike band mates Jerry Nolan and Johnny Thunders, both of whom died due to drug abuse, death wasn’t in the cards for Arthur. A year in hospital recovering from his injuries led to a spiritual awakening, and, on a whim, Kane decided to investigate Mormonism, ultimately converting to the Church of the Latter Day Saints.
Thirty years after the Dolls’ dissolution finds “Killer” Kane a 55-year-old, balding, mild-mannered devout Mormon living off social security and disability in a tiny West Hollywood apartment and riding the bus to his job at the Mormon church’s LA Family History Center. But Arthur’s life is about to change, disproving the saying that there are no second acts in American lives.
When Morrissey, the former front man of British Indie darlings, The Smiths, was given the opportunity to orchestrate the UK’s 2004 Meltdown Festival, he managed to bring the surviving members of his favorite band together for a reunion no one believed would ever happen, not even Arthur, who had been praying for this for nearly 30 years. With the help of his colleagues at the church library (who gave him the money to get his beloved bass out of the pawn shop), and accompanied by director Greg Whiteley, a fellow Mormon who met Arthur through the church, “Killer” Kane sets off on an odyssey from repairing copy machines to playing in front of an ecstatic crowd at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
As NEW YORK DOLL unfolds, we can’t help but fall a little bit in love with this gentle giant with a perpetually bemused, almost beatific expression on his face, who goes from dressing in a white sleeveless shirt and tie to regaining a post-punk sartorial sheen. And while we can’t help laughing at Arthur’s awed reaction to his London hotel room, with its three phones, Internet connection, desk and armchairs, it’s a sweet, loving laugh at seeing his childlike response to his surroundings.
Whiteley is an unimposing documentarian who allows his subject to speak for himself, quietly capturing the moments building towards a long-term dream coming true. By turns touching and hilarious, when we laugh, we laugh alongside Arthur, not at him. And seeing the sheer joy that playing again with guitarist Sylvain Sylvain and irrepressible singer David Johansen (AKA Buster Poindexter) brings him is enough to encourage a lump in the viewer’s throat.
The late Dolls’ guitarist Johnny Thunders wrote the song “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory” as a tribute to the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious years after the band broke up, but you can wrap yourself around this wonderful documentary, which shows that dreams can come true and prayers be answered. The final shots of Arthur sitting in his hotel room gazing at the camera show a man at peace with himself and the world. And he knows it. 
Supplements include a bonus 20-minute interview with Morrissey, a music video in which Johansen “dolls” up a classic Mormon hymn (!), and a 10-minute interview with director Greg Whiteley. Not a lot to write home about, but the film speaks for itself.
Visual Entertainment. Release date: 4/4/06
Directed By Greg Whiteley. Produced by Ed Cunningham and Seth Lewis Gordon. Starring Arthur “Killer” Kane. With appearances by Iggy Pop, Sir Bob Geldof, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, Mick Jones of The Clash, Sky Saxon of The Seeds, Morrissey. 78 Minutes. Rated PG-13. Widescreen 1.78:1. Dolby 5.1
Amazon.com: $14.99
| DeepDiscountDVD.com: $14.85
