Comments on: Review: ‘New York Doll’

By: Four pieces of Mormon cinema news | A Motley Vision

Four pieces of Mormon cinema news | A Motley Vision — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:00:05 +0000

[...] LDS Film Festival creator Christian Vuissa’s seventh film “One Good Man: Life as a Latter-Day Dad” (formerly titled “Father in Israel”) hits Utah theaters on Oct. 9. Here’s the thing: if it gets a strong opening, it will screen for longer in Utah. I mean, yes, you can always pick it up on DVD, but the communal nature of seeing a film like this is not to be underestimated. My favorite Mormon arts experience still has to be seeing New York Doll with a group of Mormons and punks in San Francisco. [...]

By: Brad Mortensen

Brad Mortensen — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 14:48:00 +0000

I enjoyed the version of "Poor Wayfaring Man" that Buster Poindexter performs at the end of the film. At first I assumed it was a joke, but ultimately I found it to be a touching tribute to his friend and former bandmate. It was quite appealing. Posted by Brad Mortensen

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 04:25:00 +0000

William,

Could I persuade you to say more about the graphics and how they relate to a “Mormon aesthetic”? Are you referring to the music genealogy chart, or the time lines, or something else?

Eric,
Quite the contrary, I think. I’ve read more reviews that say “Interesting stuff, for heavy-handed Mormon propaganda” than ignore the religious aspects. Christgau, for one.

Greg Call

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 17:53:00 +0000

William, I’ve been fascinated lately by this concept of the “aestetic canon” you mentioned. I’ve heard the term bantered around in some other places as well. Over the last ten years or so, there has been a real blossoming of LDS arts, particularly in the popular arts. I agree, that even with that, there still isn’t enough to really have “classics” of LDS art yet.

But I’d be really curious to discover what works are leaning that way, in all genres…

MRKH

PS, I reviewed “Doll” and “States of Grace” at Moboy: http://moboy.blogspot.com/2005/11/grace-and-dolls-my-wife-and-i-went-to.html

Posted by Mark Hansen

By: Eric Russell

Eric Russell — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 05:06:00 +0000

I think it would be interesting to find out what the punk audience thought of the film, and more specifically, what they think of Arthur. I read an interesting review in the paper that amazingly mentioned the religious aspects of the film twice and then only briefly. The whole thing focused on the band and the reunion. It made me wonder if that's the way the film is looked at by most people - as a documentary about the reunion of a punk band, with some weird Mormon stuff in the background. Unfortunate, because that perspective is missing a lot. On the other hand, it may be a good thing from a commercial standpoint, if people see what they want to see. Posted by Eric Russell

By: Brian G

Brian G — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 02:22:00 +0000

I think the key moment for me is when Arthur is getting teased about being Mormon in the dressing room. The way he is teased and the way he dutifully did his best to make a stand is just so universal. That was the moment where I really felt that this film had something to say very specific to the Mormon experience. Posted by Brian G

By: Rusty

Rusty — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:02:00 +0000

WM, This is indeed a fantastic film. It was more spiritual/touching than any previous "Mormon" movie I have seen. Fantastic film. Posted by Rusty