Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful
The year is 2008, the venue is New Yorks famous Madison Square Garden and singer Jon Bon Jovi is receiving a warm up massage backstage before his takes to the stage to strut his stuff. He tells the mousier about the first time his band, Bon Jovi, played the same venue 25 years earlier, and we are taken back 3 months into the past. This is the beginning to the Bon Jovi rockumentry, When We Were Beautiful.
Filmed over the course of the bands 2 year Lost Highway world tour, the film follows the band through 07-08. The film has been made to show the not so glamorous side to life for a rock star, as the band travel city to city for over 100 shows.
While the film is billed as a look into band, the main player in the film is the bands lead singer and namesake, Jon Bon Jovi. Mr. Bon Jovi makes up most of the 75 minute running time, with band mates Richie Sambora, Tico Torres and David Bryan getting in a few minutes here and there. This may not be a problem to the bands fan club members who cant get enough of Jon, but it does cause a problem in terms of When We Were Beautiful, or as it could have been called, When I Was Beautiful.
What is offered is not an insight into the day to day life of one of the worlds top bands on the road, but more a look at the life of Jon Bon Jovi Inc. Being the head of a major corporation isn’t is, and over the course of the film Jon does not let us forget it. We are told how it is tough playing to 50,000 screaming fans then going and sitting in a hotel room for the night, only getting a day or two in the world’s greatest cities. These facts are difficult to believe when the interview is taking place on a 5 star hotel balcony with stunning surroundings.
The best parts of the film come in the form of interviews with the other band members. The subject of Richie Sambora’s health and addiction problems are an interesting addition as he tells of how the band and music helped him through the tough period, however the subject is only lightly touched upon and a more in depth look wouldn’t have gone a miss.
Overall, the film really is just for fans of the band. It doesn’t really accomplish what it set out to achieve, showing that life as a rock star is not all that glam, on this evidence however, it doesn’t really look that bad a life.
Fan's Only
Filmed over the course of the bands 2 year Lost Highway world tour, the film follows the band through 07-08. The film has been made to show the not so glamorous side to life for a rock star, as the band travel city to city for over 100 shows.
While the film is billed as a look into band, the main player in the film is the bands lead singer and namesake, Jon Bon Jovi. Mr. Bon Jovi makes up most of the 75 minute running time, with band mates Richie Sambora, Tico Torres and David Bryan getting in a few minutes here and there. This may not be a problem to the bands fan club members who cant get enough of Jon, but it does cause a problem in terms of When We Were Beautiful, or as it could have been called, When I Was Beautiful.
What is offered is not an insight into the day to day life of one of the worlds top bands on the road, but more a look at the life of Jon Bon Jovi Inc. Being the head of a major corporation isn’t is, and over the course of the film Jon does not let us forget it. We are told how it is tough playing to 50,000 screaming fans then going and sitting in a hotel room for the night, only getting a day or two in the world’s greatest cities. These facts are difficult to believe when the interview is taking place on a 5 star hotel balcony with stunning surroundings.
The best parts of the film come in the form of interviews with the other band members. The subject of Richie Sambora’s health and addiction problems are an interesting addition as he tells of how the band and music helped him through the tough period, however the subject is only lightly touched upon and a more in depth look wouldn’t have gone a miss.
Overall, the film really is just for fans of the band. It doesn’t really accomplish what it set out to achieve, showing that life as a rock star is not all that glam, on this evidence however, it doesn’t really look that bad a life.
Fan's Only
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