Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Director: Sacha Gervasi
Starring: (interviews) Steve 'Lips' Kudlow, Robb Reiner, Chris Tsangarides
Running Time: 80 mins
Certificate: 15

On surface inspection, Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a light-hearted look at an aging heavy metal band, a sort of Spinal Tap in midlife crisis. It doesn't disappoint in that way, but there is so much more to this documentary by British director Sacha Gervasi (himself an ex-drummer for Bush). At the drop of a hat - or else the severed head of a small chicken - tears of laughter give way to a bittersweet, soft-rocking melancholy as the question is posed: Are you ever too old to stop dreaming?

An unswerving passion for 'The Music' has kept Steve 'Lips' Kudlow (frontman) and Robb Reiner (on drums) in cahoots since childhood. It's a dynamic and frequently explosive partnership that was influential for bands like Metallica and Guns N' Roses. But Lips is definitely the star. Three decades after Anvil briefly crashed onto the scene, Gervasi catches up with him in Toronto, where all that charisma seems to have gone to waste slinging pizza. When contrasted with concert footage from the '80s, the craggier Lips seems a tragic figure, still sporting the flowing locks and rebel 'tude. But there's also a purity of spirit and optimism which is completely disarming.

Lips is finally thrown a lifeline by Swiss-Italian fan Tiziana Arrigoni, who books Anvil a European tour - the big comeback for a band who never really arrived in the first place. Of course Lips jumps at the chance. Together with Robb and new guitarist Ivan Hurd, they embark on this series of gigs playing in some of Europe's trashiest nightclubs. It's badly organised too. After arriving late in Prague, Lips threatens to knock a Czech's block off when he refuses to pay the fee. His tough guy act is cutely unconvincing though, and in a funny twist on the usual scenario it is Tiziana who really loses her rag (in broken English!) and Lips must step in to calm her down.

It also seems typical of Lips that, instead of being demoralised by the experience, his energy is renewed. And that energy is totally infectious. His happiness is ours when legendary British record producer Chris Tsangarides (Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath) agrees to help them cut a new album. But by this time a pattern has emerged and we know it's only a matter of time before tempers flare up. That said, the difference between Anvil and a twentysomething band is that enough years have passed for them to realise how precious time is. So they quickly dispense with the macho posturing and they hug, they cry and talk about their feelings. It's one of the film's biggest surprises; this isn't just a rock doc but a poignant love story too.

As the band go on hitting brick walls, it becomes increasingly plain to see why Lips and Robb have stuck it out together this long. Lips needs someone to believe in him and Robb needs someone to believe in. And because they're keenly aware that "time is running out" every new shot at stardom feels loaded with tension and pathos. Robb expresses some of that existential angst through painting, laying his soul bare as he talks us through the canvases. That provides another touching insight into his character, but a laugh is never far away either. His pièce de résistance is the grotesque 'Turd in a Toilet-bowl' inspired by a trip to Germany… Gervasi is always careful to balance the tone, never mocking Lips and Robb but not lapsing into sentimentality either. What we're offered instead is a triumph-of-the-will story that is just as vibrant and rousing as a chorus of electric guitars. Cue the fist-pump!


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