When I was sixteen I decided to be more into movies than music. This was a conscious decision based in no small part on the fact that the DVD format had just been released and I didn’t think I could financially support both CDs for music and DVDs for films so one of them had to go. I don’t regret that decision one bit, my love of movies is at an all time high but it’s also left me with what I would call an underwhelming knowledge of music. I listen to a lot of music today but it never became one of my major passions. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t interest me so when a film comes along that presents an opportunity to learn about punk I’m going to jump at the chance. That leads us to The Other F Word which is a film that’s about more than just punk rock; it’s about the transformation of some of the genre’s greatest anti-establishment stars to minivan driving soccer dads.
The Other F Word is a touching and surprisingly look at the fathers of punk that are now literally fathers themselves. The story focuses on former Pennywise front man Jim Lindberg and his complicated lifestyle of trying to balance being a punk rock star that is constantly on the road touring and being a husband and father of three little girls. Jim explains how conflicted he is by wanting to provide for his family, stand by his band mates, continue making good music, but not wanting to miss out on seeing his kids grow up. There is a lot of candid footage of Jim interacting with his family at home and his Pennywise band mates on the road while they tour for almost a full year. Just some of the punk rockers that are interviewed include Art Alexakis (Everclear), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Lars Frederikson (Rancid), Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Mark Hoppus (Blink-182), Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion), Duane Peters (US Bombs), and many more. There are also interviews with non-musical counterculture icons including Tony Hawk, BMX cyclist Rick Thorne, the founder of Napster Chris Gorog, creator of MySpace Chris De Wolfe, and Warped Tour creator Kevin Lyman.
The interviews are candid, emotionally charged, and are undeniably compelling coming from some of the punk movements biggest stars describing how their lives have changed since becoming fathers. A common thread among the interviews is how many of these men had an undesirable home life stemming from an absent or abusive father and how they joined the punk movement to rebel against their families perceived ideologies. After years of singing about anarchy, rebellion, and living fast and dying young these fathers are now faced with the fact that they must take on the responsibility of raising a family and being a part of the establishment that they raged so hard against. A constant source of amusement throughout the film is watching these fathers lay down the law so to speak and talk about how they realize how ridiculous they feel being the authority figure in their children’s lives and how it’s made them finally grow up. Many of them are embarrassed about some aspects of their past and are worried about some impending discussions concerning their past decisions. For instance, Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen facial tattoos or NOFX’s Fat Mike and his two dominatrix tattoos on his arm cause both awkward questions from their own kids and some embarrassment when dealing with their children’s friend’s parents. In addition to facing up to some unexpected social norms many more are faced with tough decisions concerning how to financially support their family. Numerous musicians mention not getting into punk music for the money or with the intention of living well into their adult years and are now faced with tough financial decision to continue touring to support their family or stay closer to home and lead a more conventional occupation. There are several mentions of how the record industry has taken a nose dive and how online piracy has robbed these artists of a viable source of income and how they’re forced to tour almost nonstop to support their families. Another recurring theme is some guilt over the possibility that some of them might have sold out over the years, some seem more bothered by becoming part of the “corporate machine” than others but almost all of them see it as a necessary evil to continue supporting their family doing in some cases the only thing they know how to do well.
Andrea Blaugrund Nevins makes her directing debut with The Other F Word. She lets the musicians and their music tell their story and stays completely behind the camera with her voice only being heard a handful of times. I appreciated her hands off approach; some documentary filmmakers can make their own on screen presence or narration the focus over the actual subject matter. Instead we’re treated to a well oiled rotation of interviews and candid family moments that are as informal as they are informative. A lot of vintage photos and footage has been unearthed that help illustrate how different many of these men are. Showing them in their heyday is funny but also bizarre because it’s almost hard to believe they’re actually the same person. The idea for this film was inspired by Jim Lindberg’s 2007 book titled Punk Rock Dad. He and his family are the focal point of the story The Other F Word is trying to tell with the rest of the interviews being tied to the theme each segment of the film is addressing. Lindberg’s story isn’t always the most compelling story told in any particular segment but his journey is the glue that holds the film together.
If The Other F Word has one major fault it’s that there isn’t any real emotional high or low. It’s certainly quite funny but there’s no real triumphant moment and only one truly tragic scene. Instead there are plenty of touching small moments between the punk fathers and their kids which are effective but never achieve the emotional arch I was expecting. I also would have like to have heard more from the wives and mothers about how they feel their husbands/boyfriends have changed since becoming fathers. I imagine there would be some interesting stories about how they perceive some of their partner’s actions from time to time.
Being a punk novice outside the most well known punk acts I don’t know a Pennywise song from a US Bombs song but the film works and it humanized a group of musicians from a genre I would have written off as loud, angry, anti establishment chuckleheads before seeing this film. It will be curious to see if in the next few years we see anymore similarly themed films about other possibly misunderstood music genres. Admit it, wouldn’t you be interested to see what some older rappers think of raising their daughters to be respectable young women after making their fortunes off of music videos glorifying big ass shaking? Even if you’re not a fan of punk music there’s something to learn and enjoy about The Other F Word. It’s an interesting look into the lives of the men of an often misunderstood genre of music and how becoming a dad changes many of your perceptions. Seeing The Other F Word might challenge your own perceptions of punk music and how your life and your goals might be changed by fatherhood.
The Gateway Film Center is presenting The Other F Word as part of Reelin’ & Rockin’ on January 18 at 7 PM. All tickets are $5 and proceeds benefit the CD101 for the Kids Charity.
