At this point, it would appear that nearly every major chart-topping megastar has delivered a jukebox musical of their greatest hits, a movie biography, or an immersive museum collecting artifacts of their greatest achievements. Accomplishing all three would be a herculean task that few musical acts would dare to approach. Enter: Pavement, the self-proclaimed “most important and influential band” of all time. In Christopher Guest mockumentary style, Pavements blends a fictional narrative around the grandiose importance of a vital band in the indie scene. Commingled with actual vintage footage and a documentary of their non-fictional reunion tour, writer/director Alex Ross Perry crafts an immaculate deconstruction of the preposterous highs and lows of rock star cliche.
Despite knowing literally nothing about the band depicted, I still found myself excited to watch for the unique format and presence of actor/singer Joe Keery (Stranger Things, Spree, DJO). To be quite honest, this is maybe the best way to experience the bafflingly perfect structure of Pavements. Their general vibe and influence feels so convincing that the lines between fact and fiction blur in a compelling manner. For his part, Keery plays himself. The up-and-coming actor seems destined for his FYC era as he pursues the role of Pavement lead singer Stephen Malkus in the fictional Range Life: A Pavement Story. This movie is only one part of a three-pronged revival effort. Also in the mix: a lyrically ridiculous jukebox musical of their songs and a museum of the band’s history, featuring prized items like toenail clippings and costumes of their previous jobs. Meanwhile, the real band Pavement reunite in a major way as they prepare to play together for the first time in decades. Pavements is split between several major events, three of which are completely fictional, and one of which actually happened.
Fascinating editing weaves multiple mediums to create a narrative throughline between the disparate elements. At times, it was impossible not to wonder if a strict mockumentary of the Range Life movie could have sustained a full length. Half expecting this angle to be muddied by the other segments, they somehow blend perfectly in the end to sustain a rippling punk rock energy. Still, there can be no denying that the faux movie definitely stands out from the pack. Actors playing themselves call for some of the funniest scenes, let alone the absolutely ridiculous overacting and hilariously phony recreation of band history in that movie-within-a-movie. My favorite of the bunch was Keery as Keery, embracing every pretentious acting cliche in pursuit of that evasive Oscar nomination. His bits with the vocal coach and insistence to only be called Steve whilst on camera channel ultimate diva. Would it be too out of the question for Keery to garner a supporting award of his own for Pavements? A phony Q&A session seals the deal—Perry and co-writer Stephen Malkmus know how ridiculous press tours are. Extra points for underlining the phoniness of a greenscreen recreation of a performance juxtaposed against real footage of the band in peak form.
Obviously, Pavement remain the highlight of the whole affair. Their songs and lyrics vibe through every frame, and their outsider nature makes them easy to root for. Band members recount events in their own words to add further texture to their story. Making music deliberately trashy sounding to stand out that then takes on a life of its own, and instead, spontaneously materializes a rabid fanbase is quite a boss move. Their entire journey gets retraced, through humble beginnings at the University of Virginia. Getting to hear Pavement perform live becomes an essential element baked into the very core. By the time all the separate events meet onscreen through montage, split screen, and quirky trickery, Pavements cements itself as a truly great music movie.
Is success measured by how many proverbial eggs a band has in their basket? If so, Pavement has been painted as jacks-of-all-trades that are bigger than The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Maybe movie-Joe Keery thinks that Bohemian Rhapsody stands as the biopic gold standard, but we all know that honor actually belongs to Rocketman. Both items are decidedly pre-Pavements. Coming after will make other efforts generic in comparison. Somehow, Alex Ross Perry encapsulates the band’s off-key sense of humor. Perry and team craft a fun, ridiculous movie that stands as the most creative music-doc of the decade.
Harness your hopes into the Pavements movie, making its US theatrical premiere on Friday, May 2nd, at Film Forum.
