Anvil! The Story of Anvil

City Paper Grade: B

by Shaun Brady

LIPS SERVICE: Anvil guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow shreds in Sacha Gervasi's Anvil! The Story of Anvil.

City paper grade: [B]

The comparisons to This Is Spinal Tap are easy and obvious, but Sacha Gervasi's doc about aging Canadian metal never-quite-weres Anvil isn't interested in laughing at the band's persistent attempts to live the rock star fantasies of their youth. And although everyone from Lars Ulrich to Slash to Lemmy testifies to their influence before the title — itself gloriously metal in its grandiose redundancy — even appears, this isn't about reclaiming Anvil's place in the headbanger hierarchy, either. Instead, Gervasi paints a downright tender portrait of the friendship between singer/guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and unfortunately named (in light of Spinal Tap's director) drummer Robb Reiner. The pair formed Anvil in their early teens and have persisted now into their 50s, as the doc finds them recording their 13th album and embarking on an ill-fated European tour. There are plenty of Tap-like moments on this trek, from getting lost in Prague to a festival that promises 5,000 attendees and delivers 174, but where Tappers Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins and Derek Smalls were delusional about their fallen stars, Lips and Reiner fully recognize their plight — they simply refuse to relinquish a dream that's as fresh four decades past its expiration date as it was the first time they turned on their amps. Off the road, the film is often uncannily similar to The Wrestler, another document of a long-maned dreamer intent on recapturing past glories; Kudlow's day job delivering meals to Toronto schools even recalls Mickey Rourke's stint behind the deli counter. But there's no melodramatic loneliness for these two, both family men with a touching bond. Reiner seems ready to throw down his sticks at each new disappointment, but is both driven by and protective of Lips' irrepressible optimism. Their partnership, coupled with their obvious joy in music that many would see as ridiculously passé, throws up undaunted devil horns at the idea that success is more about fame and fortune than about living your dreams.

(See Sam Adams' interview with director Sacha Gervasi.)