Summary: A documentary about the making of a ballet based on William Shatner and Ben Folds’ album “Has Been”.
I was not really sure what to expect going in to this. How, exactly, do you make a ballet out of a spoken word album, even if the music is by Ben Folds (who has brought us hits such as “Brick” and “Rockin’ the Suburbs”)? Turns out, without too much difficulty. This documentary consists of footage of the ballet with interviews of William Shatner, Margo Sappington and various other people interspersed. The interviews with people involved on the ballet side of this production were the least interesting portions of the movie, IMHO. Mostly it was just a group of people all agreeing that their immediate response, upon being told about a ballet to a William Shatner album, was “That sounds great!”. Really? Nobody had any doubts? I find that a bit hard to believe. I guess those people probably were just not interviewed, but I would have liked someone to say “I thought this was a stupid idea. Who wants to watch people dance to William Shatner?”.
The most interesting parts (aside from footage of the actual ballet, which was very cool – I enjoyed that all the costumes are in very TOS colours) were the interviews with William Shatner. He speaks on a wide range of subjects including general ballet, love and other themes of the music, his past, his previous albums and other poor decisions, and the making of “Has Been”. The only problem is that no matter what Shatner is talking about it comes off as hilarious and slightly pompous. And that is too bad because, while it makes for entertaining viewing, he actually has some very interesting insight and poignant stories. That said, I’m pretty sure that is what we all love about Shatner and he delivers in spades. The song “Familiar Love” is particularly tender and humourous (intentionally). “I Can’t Get Behind That” is also hilarious and features Henry Rollins in a shouting match with Shatner. I found it odd that they only introduced Rollins as a contemporary spoken word artist without mentioning his past as the lead singer for the hardcore punk band Black Flag. It would have emphasized the strange juxtaposition of Rollins and Shatner. But that is just nitpicking. The interviews with Rollins and Ben Folds regarding the making of the album are also excellent. Even if you are unfamiliar with Shatner and Star Trek, I recommend checking this documentary out. William Shatner FTW.
The most interesting parts (aside from footage of the actual ballet, which was very cool – I enjoyed that all the costumes are in very TOS colours) were the interviews with William Shatner. He speaks on a wide range of subjects including general ballet, love and other themes of the music, his past, his previous albums and other poor decisions, and the making of “Has Been”. The only problem is that no matter what Shatner is talking about it comes off as hilarious and slightly pompous. And that is too bad because, while it makes for entertaining viewing, he actually has some very interesting insight and poignant stories. That said, I’m pretty sure that is what we all love about Shatner and he delivers in spades. The song “Familiar Love” is particularly tender and humourous (intentionally). “I Can’t Get Behind That” is also hilarious and features Henry Rollins in a shouting match with Shatner. I found it odd that they only introduced Rollins as a contemporary spoken word artist without mentioning his past as the lead singer for the hardcore punk band Black Flag. It would have emphasized the strange juxtaposition of Rollins and Shatner. But that is just nitpicking. The interviews with Rollins and Ben Folds regarding the making of the album are also excellent. Even if you are unfamiliar with Shatner and Star Trek, I recommend checking this documentary out. William Shatner FTW.
A
originally posted Oct. 6, 2009
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