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Ghost Canyon

'GG Allin: All In The Family'
(GG Allin, Merle Allin, Arleta Baird, Dino Sex, The Murder Junkies, et al / DVD / NR / 2019 / MVD Visual)

Overview: The late American extreme punk rock musician, GG Allin, is best remembered for his notorious live performances, which often featured transgressive acts, including self-mutilation, eating his own feces, and attacking the audience.

In 1993 he died of an heroin overdose.

In director Sami Saif's documentary 'GG Allin: All In The Family' we meet the two remaining family members, mother Arleta and brother Merle, who is still active in GG Allins backing band The Murder Junkies.

It is the story about an extraordinary loving family, whose departed son and brother has left a trail of unanswered questions, and how we need to feed our own version of the past to overcome the present and the future.

DVD Verdict: Assuming the reason you are interested in this documentary is that you know all about the man himself, GG Allin, you'll instantly know what to expect here.

I mean, the man was possibly one of the most, shall we say, notorious, rockers of the '80s and '90s and given his stage antics, has gone down in history as one of the most "entertaining" rockers there has ever been!

That said, here in 'GG Allin: All In The Family' we get to see a far more intimate look at the legend, where we end up spending quality screen time with his brother and mother; which gives us a better understanding of just what made GG Allin tick, so to speak.

Running at a healthy 74 minutes, the documentary is a rather sweet overview of not only GG Allin, but his mother and her family. Indeed, and furthermore, it is chock full of sentimentality, which is all down to the screen time devoted to his mother, of course.

Directed by the award-winning director Sami Saif, some twenty years on from his all too premature passing in 1993, his mother Arleta and brother Merle (each of whom, in their own personal way, has tried to come to terms with GG's death), are shown as compassionate humans throughout.

Although the staged segments that resemble more like so-called reality television, and utterly doctored footage of GG Allin, didn't sit well with me, sorry.

Anyway, getting back on track, and Arleta tackles her grief by having her son's gravestone removed from the cemetery in New Hampshire for she is tired of watching his fans pay tribute to GG by vandalizing his grave!

That is not the son she wants to remember. She wants to remember GG, the man - a loving son and brother. Brother Merle, on the other hand, keeps himself and the myth about the world's most destructive rock 'n' roll musician going by selling merchandise and be breathing life into their old joint band, The Murder Junkies.

Ok, sure, 'GG Allin: All In The Family' leaves too many topics underdeveloped, focusing more on the man than the music, but the fact that there's also plenty of performance footage (including prime scatological bits), I came away feeling like I understand what was really going on in those turbulent years prior to his untimely death. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.

'GG Allin: All In the Family' [DVD] is out October 15th, 2019 via MVD Visual

www.MVDvisual.com





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