142. Meet Me In The Bathroom; movie review

 

MEET ME IN THE BATHROOM

Cert 15

108 mins

BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong sex references, drug misuse

If only we had known what was bubbling beneath the surface of New York when we had our only visit in 2002.

To be fair we had two young children with us but it would have been amazing to go to a club and see one of the city's raw, up-and-coming bands.

We are offered that glimpse of hindsight with Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace's Meet Me In The Bathroom, a documentary about The Strokes and their Big Apple peers.

Inspired by Lizzy Goodman's best-seller, the movie chronicles the indie band explosion through intimate archive footage.

At the same time, New York was devastated by the horrors of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on 9/11.

There are scenes from that day and its aftermath as the film follows emerging bands Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem, TV on the Radio, The Rapture and The Moldy Peaches. 

None of the band members is seen 20 years on but some add to the narrative with explanations of extreme highs and lows of being at rock's cutting edge.

And it certainly isn't all glamour - Interpol recall how they played in front of just five people in a pub on one ill-judged tour of England.

These are bands with punk ideals so much of the music is edgy and lacks the finesse of their studio albums.

While it is fascinating to see them in private settings, I felt there needed to be a wider discussion about each act's relative success or failure.

Thus, I found myself looking up their respective discographies to add some context.

Nevertheless, Meet Me In The Bathroom is worthwhile viewing.

Reasons to watch: Intimate footage 

Reasons to avoid: Needs bigger picture narration

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? The Strokes were named Band of the Year in 2002 by Spin and heavily influenced bands such as The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, and Franz Ferdinand. Alex Turner, lead singer of Arctic Monkeys, sang "I just wanted to be one of The Strokes" in their 2018 song 'Star Treatment

The final word. Dylan Southern: "When you’re having the best time of your life, you probably don’t realise it at the time." NME

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