Music docs are inherently self-aggrandizing, and the idea of Pavement celebrating themselves with an official documentary contradicts the slacker image that made them appealing in the first place. They're ironic and too cool to care — so how are they supposed to honour their legacy in a way that feels authentic to their reputation?
Enter Pavements, a bizarre film that's part retrospective documentary, part comedic mockumentary, and part parody biopic. Blending fact and fiction in ways that aren't always easy to differentiate, it holds up the very idea of legacy-building up for mockery, in the process creating the perfect reflection of what Pavement are all about. Like recent excellent docs The Velvet Underground and Moonage Daydream, Pavements channels the artistic approach of its subject, capturing their vibe more than telling the story of their career.
The collage-like film mashes together VHS footage of Pavement's '90s heyday with recent clips of their reunion rehearsals. But the most compelling parts focus on a trio of bizarre Pavement tributes: a jukebox musical called Slanted! Enchanted, a self-serious biopic in the mould of Bohemian Rhapsody called Range Life (starring Joe Keery, Jason Schwartzman and Tim Heidecker), and a gallery exhibition full of mundane artifacts from the group's career.
Because of their slacker reputation and esoteric, rough-around-the-edges music, it's difficult to celebrate Pavement in the same ways we do other bands; the musical Slanted! Enchanted! is particularly absurd, as we see actors auditioning with ridiculous ASMR-cursive-voiced versions of Pavement songs, and earnest theatre kids performing melodramatic dance routines to "Summer Babe" and "Spit on a Stranger."
It's sometimes unclear to what extent these tributes are real, or if they're simply being staged as a joke — director Alex Ross Perry's way of taking the piss out of the pompous ways other artists have been honoured. Slanted! Enchanted! really was staged as a musical, and I came away from Pavements unsure to what extent the performers were in on the joke. Are we laughing at them or with them, and do they actually think this musical is a good idea?
Certainly, the Range Life biopic is a guerrilla stunt, presented here as if it's a screener for Academy Award voters. Behind-the-scenes footage of Joe Keery preparing for his role as Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus provide the funniest and most memorable scenes, as the comically pretentious Keery goes full Daniel Day-Lewis, working with a vocal coach to master Malkmus's California vocal fry and plotting to take a picture of the singer's tongue in order to study how he holds it. He visits the art gallery where the Pavement guys used to moonlight as security guards, hoping to work a couple of night shifts in order to learn more about their experiences.
The layers of irony peel back like an onion, archival clips of Malkmus being awkward in interviews showing how Pavement have never quite known how to handle their public image or reconcile their ambitions with their reputation.
What emerges is a surprisingly tender tribute to the band as they ought to be remembered — not quite as cool as they pretended to be, but with a totally singular sound and style that rightfully made them one of the defining bands of the era when the underground spilled over into the mainstream. Pavements is perfectly Pavement-y.
CUFF.Docs runs from November 20–24. Find details about the festival at its website.