Not too much romanticizing the times, not too many hippy dippy claims of enlightenment or tying some meaning to a 'cosmic coincidence', meahn. But also not a lot of new information aside from very personal family stuff. I'd like to have heard more about writing songs and making some of the albums, but it's pretty good. 3.4 stars
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grantss15 November 2018The life and times of Bob Weir, Grateful Dead guitarist and vocalist.
Good, but a bit flat. Covers the history of Bob Weir well, especially the Grateful Dead years (as you would hope). Reasonably interesting interviews with Weir and other people. Quite emotional too at times.
However, doesn't ever elevate beyond interesting. There's no spark, or something revolutionary in the story-telling, to make this brilliant. -
flynnflon18 December 2020If so, I might epitomize the concept. Don't own any albums. Never been to a show. Don't own any tie-dye, lol. But I've had the pleasure of knowing many dedicated Deadheads, over the years. Their music had been the soundtrack to many a trip through space. And I've always been aware of their iconic impact on American Music.
So, no real expectations coming into this doc. It's interesting enough. I love hearing from the first person perspective, and Weir is as forthcoming and engaging as you'd hope.
The only gripe I had with this movie, and I wonder how the more devoted fans felt, was one sequence, in particular.
And that was Weir with his (young) wife and kids, returning to the old Haight/Ashbury neighbourhood.
In fact, if I'm honest, the whole inclusion of his wife was a bit of a cringe fest.
But in particular, there's a scene where she and the kids are looking at some graffiti tributes, to the fallen members of the Dead, and she's exclaiming "you're not there" over and over, until the TEENAGE daughter points out that it's because Weir hasn't died...and the camera pans to Bob, who chuckles awkwardly.
It was even more cringeworthy then the following Natascha scene, where she talks about meeting him at 15.
I'm surprised either scene made the final cut of the doc.
In any case, the doc is informative and a great balance of old and new footage. Worthwhile for any music fan.
7.5/10 -
rking1-126 May 2015If you are a deadhead like me, this documentary will possibly make you cry and you will swear it's the greatest documentary you've ever saw in your life. If you are not, you will find it intriguing, interesting and well done. I was not going to review this because I am so biased. I am a deadhead and this is the most insightful piece of work on the Grateful Dead I've seen in years. If you ever were curious about the Grateful Dead this gives the most behind the scenes look at what occurred. It certainly gives you a different version of Bobby. What a scape of a most unique band that changed history. "The omnipotent Grateful Dead."
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I am a tragically uncool man....I admit it. So, when a new documentary about the Grateful Dead and their lead singer Bob Weir came out, I decided to see it with a friend--one who loves the Dead and could help fill in the gaps and explain things to me as we watched. I never really listened to their music, so this was a new experience--one that was surprisingly enjoyable and held my interest despite me not being a Dead-head or even a nearly Dead-head!
While there have been other documentaries about this group, this one focuses mostly on Bob Weir and his contribution to the band. Additionally, the film talks quite a bit about Weir's best friend and mentor, Jerry Garcia. But, I should point out that if you want to learn a lot about other individual members of the band, this may not be the best film for you. This is NOT a complaint--more an observation about the scope of the film.
What you get is mostly what you expect from this film--a lot of vintage footage of the band, a lot of interviews with band members and friends as well as interviews with Weir himself. However, what I really like is the access to Weir that the film gives you. He narrates much of the film and there is a lot of interesting insights and observations about himself that make this a most revealing film- -especially when he talks about his life since the Grateful Death broke up following the death of Garcia. It also, most importantly, is very interesting and their energy is infectious. I appreciated how Weir and his band mates didn't seem to do this for the money or fame but for a drive to perform--and Weir apparently has performed more than 6000 times on stage! So, for the uninitiated like me, it's very enjoyable and well worth seeing because of Weir and the Dead's love of what they do.
As far as my buddy goes, he was ecstatic and thanked me for turning him on to this film. In his words "I loved the film...every minute of it". I think that pretty much says what a fan would likely think about the film.
If you want to see it, the film just debuted this month on Netflix and can be streamed from your TV or computer. -
imdb-62522 June 2015I've been to roughly 400 Dead shows in my life. To me, Weir was always that guy that flubbed his lines, or shouted "Ha!" a lot. This documentary has completely enlightened me to who Bob is. It also tells a pretty good story of the Grateful Dead and Bob's relationship with Jerry. There are parts of it that will likely bring you to tears. So many unknowns about Bobby have been answered. And I must say that he seems to have a great outlook in life. His head is screwed on nice and tight. I love the way he refers to dying as "checking out".
This documentary takes you from the days before he met Jerry all the way to the present and offers a very intimate look into the artist, his music and family life. I'm glad I watched it. -
Emerenciano2 August 2018My 200th review here had to be about this fantastic band and this great musician who rocked the world during 30 years. Those who like the band enjoyed every little second of the movie. Those who still don't know Weir / GD have here a great chance to change this.
Watch the film and listen to the band!
PS: Once the film ended I researched more about Garcia and discovered today (1st August) would be his 76th brithday!!! -
dedawson-8256118 April 2023Truly Bob Weir has a colorful story, starting with The Merry Pranksters at age 16 and continuing through three decades of the Dead. Avid Deadheads will love this film. Unfortunately for this fan, Bob concentrates on his role as Jerry's buddy, the chick magnet of the band and the vegan spiritualist survivor. Other than Garcia's health problems, he glosses over conflict within The Dead, including efforts of other band members to dismiss him and Pigpen as musically weak. There's not much music in the film and the band's change in musical direction hardly gets mentioned. It's okay; The Dead was and will always be special, but this documentary doesn't fill the bill.
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deaded213 June 2015I was not expecting to like this one. I'm a deadhead, seen 120+ shows, tons of tapes, but I don't salivate over everything that comes out with the Dead's name. I'm not a fan of Ratdog and many of Bobby's later tunes struck me wrong, at least initially (Victim, Picasso Moon, Easy Answers, Money, etc... ). I was expecting this to be a bit cheesy but boy was I wrong. A+ material. Well filmed, nice editing, excellent cinematography, extremely well produced. No, it's not The Last Waltz, but it's not a concert film. It really gave me good glimpse into Bob's head, if that's possible. I feel closer to him now (I can't believe I didn't know he was married!! I can't believe he didn't invite me to the wedding!).
I **LOVED** it!! I just wish it was longer.
I also wish I could buy this. Anyone know where I could purchase an legit copy? -
nicebike1 June 2016I am a 'Deadicated' Deadhead, and I also enjoy a good documentary. While most of the Rockumentaries out there are fun to watch, they leave me unsatisfied. The same cannot be said about the film, The Other One, The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir. Like a good Jersey- style pizza, or a good Dead concert the film left me yearning for more; very satisfied. As the film delved into the life of Weir as the Grateful Dead's rhythm guitarist, Jerry Garcia's best friend and a loving father, it also cast a light on his humorous side. Remember when the film's cast members admitted that Weir was the band's 'babe magnet'. Collectively, they lovingly joked about Bob's ability to draw women into his life. Another funny moment was when Weir recalled the time he told his adoptive mother that he wanted to go join, and live, with the Dead, his new family. He said it was like telling her that he was running away with the circus. While there is more to this movie than one can fit within a brief critique the film makes one feel good about being a Deadhead, and a little melancholy that those time are now a wonderful memory. There will never be anything like a Grateful Dead concert.
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Michael_Elliott1 February 2017The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir (2014)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Whenever someone thinks of the Grateful Dead their minds usually go towards Jerry Garcia. The "other one," as the title refers to, is Bob Weir and this documentary takes a look at his life as well as his time in the band.
I'm not the biggest fan of the band but there's no question that this is a remarkably well-made documentary that packs a nice punch. If you're a fan of the band then I can't imagine you being disappointed in this and if you're not familiar with who Weir is then this is going to offer up a lot of great stories as well as some nice concert footage as well.
I guess if there was one thing that I'd complain about is the fact that the film is meant to be a documentary on Weir but it pushes into more of a documentary on the band and even Garcia. There's a lot of time devoted to things other than Weir and I'm sure the upcoming Martin Scorsese documentary will feature even more stories dealing with that. With that said, again, that's just a small complaint because the majority of what is here is excellent.
There are some great stories about how the band came together, The Acid Test sessions and of course how many fun times Weir was having with the ladies since he was the ladies man of the group. Also discussed is the disastrous drug use of Jerry Garcia as well as some of the darker sides of their fans. -
chrisetherington21 July 2018Band documentaries are tough, because you want to hear the music and see 30+ years of historical footage, but also hear the story telling and interviews. This documentary does a good job balancing, and doesn't tiptoe around the drugs and lifestyle.
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PalmBeachG23 March 2023So if you grew up in the early 70s you already know; you either loved them or hated them. No in- between. I for one didn't care for the ideology of the cult - did like some music for sure but you were either all in or all out mostly. Unfortunately I saw too many lives get too far side tracked for their own good. Enjoyed the story of Bob Weir which you don't often hear since Garcia would normally be featured in documentaries. To hear the story from Bob Weir himself is very interesting and how his life changed after having a family is enlightening and a happy ending overall making you feel good and worth to watch.
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Obviously, if you're a Dead fan, you'll love this. Period. For the rest of you, take an hour and a half, relax, and learn a little bit about what the Dead are all about. Weir's a likeable enough fellow to be the center piece of this documentary. Flows nicely. Good tunes. Good story.