The Replacements
Dinosaur DVDs with a smattering of punk, porn, and R&B
Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, Fri., Dec. 21, 2012
The Replacements
Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements (What Were We Thinking)Can a documentary on a band be successful if it doesn't include anyone from the group or any of the band's music? Maybe I'm the same geek for the Replacements as the multitude of voices and talking heads director Gorman Bechard gathers to talk about a favorite subject, but Color Me Obsessed had me almost always grinning, once near tears, and close to shouting at the screen with his chronological oral history of the seminal Minneapolis fourpiece (1979-1991). Will a newcomer to the band feel the same way about meeting Tim, the unfortunate SOB the band supposedly named an album after? Or the person who recorded the cops breaking up a party, the audio of which is found at the beginning of "Kids Don't Follow"? What's undeniable: Everyone involved possesses an amazing amount of passion for the band. Voices/heads include musicians from Hüsker Dü, Babes in Toyland, the Hold Steady, and the Goo Goo Dolls; writers Robert Christgau, Greg Kot, and Jim DeRogatis; as well as actors George Wendt, Tom Arnold, and many others. A deluxe version has a second DVD with deleted scenes, extra commentary, and trailers, but Bechard's film remains more than satisfying by itself.