I was obsessed with this era of rock as a teenager and I still love it all these years later, so I was expecting to love this, but I just didn't.
The film touched on some interesting topics, but never followed through with any of them. Karen O had some terrible things happen to her, but the film talked about each of them for a minute or so and then moved on. And I'd like to know more about Albert Hammond Jr's drug addiction. Where is he now? Where is everyone now? The movie just stops in the 2000s without any real feeling of completion.
Many years ago, I purchased two cheap, "unofficial" documentaries about The Strokes. Meet Me In The Bathroom was not even as good as those were. It didn't feel like there was a narrative or purpose for it. It truly is just a timeline of events. It doesn't even do a good job of telling us why we should care about any of the artists mentioned. It just expects you to know who they are already. So anyone who isn't familiar with this era of rock should probably skip this film altogether.
At certain points, it seemed like the filmmakers were trying to lead us to believe that Julian Casablancas was dead. My roommate who doesn't know about these bands questioned if he was still alive. I know that wasn't their intention, but it happened because there wasn't enough thought put into the film's structure. They kept showing images of Julian looking sad with emotional music and then having voiceovers of people talking about how the music industry wasn't what he thought it would be or how he could never find where he belonged, etc.
Also, I hate that Ryan Adams gets to have a voice in this film. In fact, I was going to rate this movie a 5 and lowered it one point because of that. I have no idea what the filmmakers' opinion on him is because, again, it's just a timeline of events without any personality, but the film almost gives him a pass on a lot of things because they refuse to pick a side. Not only was he the one to introduce drugs to Albert, he was basically a groupie, obsessed with The Strokes. Given the fact that his most successful album is just covers of Taylor Swift songs, it's no surprise that he's a leech, but I wish the film had pointed that out more. He also claimed The Strokes were rude to him at one point because they were at the end of their fame and probably jealous. It's obvious to anyone paying attention that that's not why they didn't want him around, but The Strokes never get to share their side. So, a lot of people watching probably believe Adams, especially people coming into this without knowing anything about him.
The film touched on some interesting topics, but never followed through with any of them. Karen O had some terrible things happen to her, but the film talked about each of them for a minute or so and then moved on. And I'd like to know more about Albert Hammond Jr's drug addiction. Where is he now? Where is everyone now? The movie just stops in the 2000s without any real feeling of completion.
Many years ago, I purchased two cheap, "unofficial" documentaries about The Strokes. Meet Me In The Bathroom was not even as good as those were. It didn't feel like there was a narrative or purpose for it. It truly is just a timeline of events. It doesn't even do a good job of telling us why we should care about any of the artists mentioned. It just expects you to know who they are already. So anyone who isn't familiar with this era of rock should probably skip this film altogether.
At certain points, it seemed like the filmmakers were trying to lead us to believe that Julian Casablancas was dead. My roommate who doesn't know about these bands questioned if he was still alive. I know that wasn't their intention, but it happened because there wasn't enough thought put into the film's structure. They kept showing images of Julian looking sad with emotional music and then having voiceovers of people talking about how the music industry wasn't what he thought it would be or how he could never find where he belonged, etc.
Also, I hate that Ryan Adams gets to have a voice in this film. In fact, I was going to rate this movie a 5 and lowered it one point because of that. I have no idea what the filmmakers' opinion on him is because, again, it's just a timeline of events without any personality, but the film almost gives him a pass on a lot of things because they refuse to pick a side. Not only was he the one to introduce drugs to Albert, he was basically a groupie, obsessed with The Strokes. Given the fact that his most successful album is just covers of Taylor Swift songs, it's no surprise that he's a leech, but I wish the film had pointed that out more. He also claimed The Strokes were rude to him at one point because they were at the end of their fame and probably jealous. It's obvious to anyone paying attention that that's not why they didn't want him around, but The Strokes never get to share their side. So, a lot of people watching probably believe Adams, especially people coming into this without knowing anything about him.