The best part of Bachman, in my opinion, is the nostalgia. There are some priceless clips and photos from his formative years and some interesting tidbits contributed by the various stars and non stars who knew him either personally or professionally or both. Being from Winnipeg makes the nostalgia even more interesting. The segment with his small warehouse of guitars and the obvious Spinal Tap reference or two is fascinating and amusing ( and I am not referring to the obvious Spinal Tap reference that is the name of his radio show ).
Bachman, however, is lacking in depth and continuity. Numerous children are mentioned but only two are interviewed. After building up the importance of his family we are suddenly told that he separated from his wife, apparently at her behest, without any real explanation. His ex-wife is also not interviewed, making the entire biopic incomplete. I have seen several other biopics such as the recent one on Robin Williams where ex-spouses offered a balanced and significant contribution. Instead we are led to believe that he loved his wife so much that he converted to Mormonism to marry her and then are told by his son Tal that Mormonism was not for Randy after all. We are also told that it is believed that it took Randy some 25 years to be able to move on from his separation. This shocking information or speculation is dropped like a bombshell late in the program without any explanation or resolution, much less comment from the man himself. In fact Randy's personal views on life, friends, family and musical collaborators are virtually non-existent.
Bachman certainly succeeds as a tribute to an outstanding musical talent but offers virtually no insight into Bachman the man, other than making it abundantly clear that his life is music and little else. Perhaps that is why his ex-wife and the rest of his children are noticeably absent from the story told here. Bachman is certainly worth watching from a nostalgia point of view but offers little in the way of depth or insight into Randy's personna. It also runs out of steam over the last half hour and ends rather awkwardly.
Bachman, however, is lacking in depth and continuity. Numerous children are mentioned but only two are interviewed. After building up the importance of his family we are suddenly told that he separated from his wife, apparently at her behest, without any real explanation. His ex-wife is also not interviewed, making the entire biopic incomplete. I have seen several other biopics such as the recent one on Robin Williams where ex-spouses offered a balanced and significant contribution. Instead we are led to believe that he loved his wife so much that he converted to Mormonism to marry her and then are told by his son Tal that Mormonism was not for Randy after all. We are also told that it is believed that it took Randy some 25 years to be able to move on from his separation. This shocking information or speculation is dropped like a bombshell late in the program without any explanation or resolution, much less comment from the man himself. In fact Randy's personal views on life, friends, family and musical collaborators are virtually non-existent.
Bachman certainly succeeds as a tribute to an outstanding musical talent but offers virtually no insight into Bachman the man, other than making it abundantly clear that his life is music and little else. Perhaps that is why his ex-wife and the rest of his children are noticeably absent from the story told here. Bachman is certainly worth watching from a nostalgia point of view but offers little in the way of depth or insight into Randy's personna. It also runs out of steam over the last half hour and ends rather awkwardly.
