The documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil received a lot of praise upon its release as a real-life This is Spinal Tap, but it struck me as a missed opportunity. Director Sacha Gervasi has the cooperation of golden subjects: Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner (Spinal Tap fans will recognize the irony of the latter’s name). These fiftysomething headbangers were thisclose to making it big in the 1980s metal heyday, but they never achieved full stardom. The thing is, they’ve never given up, and the documentary traces their ill-fated attempt to attain rock glory via a disastrous European tour. Kudlow, particularly, is a fascinating character – his determination seems both noble and pathological – but you never really see him off stage, out of his “Lips” persona. Despite this being a documentary, I found more real-life poetry about aspiration and failure in a fictional effort such as The Wrestler.
