Eat That Question (2016) User Reviews (11)

Interviews and live music from one of the most interesting musicians of the 20th Century makes for one interesting film.

[texshelters · 8/10 · 1 August 2016]

Eat this Review

"Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in his Own Words" is a film about the musical iconoclast, composer and entrepreneur, Frank Zappa. The film is mainly Zappa in his own words and his words are almost as entertaining as his compositions. The film also has a lot of footage of him playing live. Unlike the U.S., Zappa was a celebrity in Europe. Thus, many of the interviews are from European shows. In fact, his song Bobby Brown, despite its 'lewdness' in English, was a number one hit in Norway and Sweden.

The film illuminates Zappa and shows his combative style as well as his creative talents. As a musician, he wrote everything from blues to classical to jazz to standard rock. All the while, he mocked musical styles he thinks of as trite such as disco, psychedelia and new wave. In one scene, Zappa mocks Devo music with an imitation of part of Devo's hit, Whip It. What Zappa seems to not know is that Devo would have absolutely agreed with Zappa's critique of music and pop culture. And that is why many love Zappa, his willing to challenge convention and critique everything.

He talks about free speech and freedom, he calls himself a conservative and a composer, he is proud to "have four kids" and brags that he pays his mortgage and pays taxes like any American. He has no patience for "terrible music" and people who are sell outs. There are many noteworthy quotes in the film. He hates the record industry for messing with his music and preventing him from making money off of his talent and music in generally, but one senses that if he could rid the world of music he hates, he might just do that.

I would have liked to hear him talk more about music he likes and dislikes and some of his other influences more than the one scene where he lists classical artist he likes and have influenced him such as Stravinsky and Bartók. Did he like Dylan, Miles Davis, punk rock, or rap music? Perhaps these questions weren't in the vault anywhere. But the questions are intriguing given the interviews that were in the film.

Rating: Pay full price

Interviews and live music from one of the most interesting musicians of the 20th Century makes for one interesting film.

Peace, Tex Shelters

Portrait of a Serious Musician

[Lilcount · 8/10 · 26 July 2016]

From a 1963 appearance on the Steve Allen Show, to an interview on the Today Show not long before his passing, director Thorsten Schutte does not miss a chance to show us the public face of a a very serious artist, Frank Zappa. Much minutiae is omitted, for instance his first marriage and the onstage assault that for a time left him in a wheelchair. But what is shown is consistent. Zappa was a singular musical talent who insisted on complete control of his artistic output. He also was an astute businessman who provided well for his second wife and their four children.

Zappa died absurdly young, but his life was a triumph. "Eat That Question" is an excellent introduction to his work. But it's only the tip of the iceberg.

Highly recommended.

Not a concert movie, not a conventional documentary

[phil-63362 · 8/10 · 3 November 2016]

This is not a movie that shows concerts, although you'll see clips from several of them. It's not a movie that interviews people who knew the late Mr. Zappa. It's not even about his (and the Mothers of Invention's) music. It's about Frank Zappa himself, as shown by interviews a great number of people did with him, illustrated by some of his music and performances.

With that in mind, it's a great documentary. It's roughly chronological, starting with the Steve Allen Show and ending with an interview shortly before he died. What you get is Frank Zappa in his own words, and he comes across as a brilliant person. His music never spoke to me; it doesn't speak to me now, whether it's his Mother's of Invention works or his more nearly classical compositions. But the guy impresses me as brilliant in every day life. He distinguished between music as a business, where decisions are based on return on investment, and music as an art, where decisions are based on artistic merit. He made enough money in the business to fund his art, as many actors do today.

I was impressed that he started out with considerable maturity and never really wavered from his path to music as an art, not a a business. Although he made money, he (he says, and I believe) never sold out and never made music that was commercial. His analysis of the business and of world affairs was spot on. He comes across in the film as a very thoughtful, analytical person. I've never understood his music, but I'd have loved to have a few conversations with him. He'd have been 76 this year if he'd lived, and I would greatly appreciate his take on the times.

Unique and eye-opening

[Ramascreen · 8/10 · 20 June 2016]

EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS documentary is unique and eye-opening, one of the best docus I've seen all year. Those of us who are familiar with his legacy would respect him even more from watching this and those of us who may not have heard of Zappa, would see this film, and instantly become his newest fan.

To be honest, I didn't grow up listening to Frank Zappa's music and this documentary reminds me why that is. It's because Zappa's music is an acquired taste, if you will. His music is extremely unconventional, he would arrange complex bands and combine all kinds instruments and and styles and orchestra to perform his composition that more than often would have average listeners scratch their heads. I wonder if his music would have a place in today's short attention span social media/internet generation where everything has to be catchy and instant every single minute.

But I'm a fan of Zappa the person, the artist, who doesn't give flying two-cents whether or not his music can be played on the radio or if it's commercially viable in the ears of records studios that only think of the bottomline.

The title wasn't joking when it said 'In His Own Words,' this docu is as unique as it gets because director Thorsten Schutte completely throws the book out the window and instead of going with the usual talking heads or interviewing loved ones remembering about Zappa, Schutte goes straight to the source. By using archival footage of old interviews with Zappa, his TV appearances, concert recordings, 'EAT THAT QUESTION' brings Zappa to us, as if his timeless words of wisdom have been resurrected once more and it feels all the more impactful hearing it straight from the man himself. This docu doesn't only celebrate Zappa but it also gives him a fresh look. Who knew that the man whose hippie appearance was striking and memorable was actually a family man who believed in anti-drug use. His protest against censorship is probably my most favorite part of this docu, it reminds us that time and time again there will be forces from the narrow-minded right wing who'll try to take our freedom of speech away, so it's important for today's generation to learn from Zappa's legacy and his fight to stay true to his art and ideas.

-- Rama's Screen --

Truly informative...But, one flaw.

[johndesautels · 8/10 · 27 June 2016]

Great review, read the entire piece. As a Zappa fan, who has seen Frank perform many times, I can't wait to see it. Only one thing wrong, the comment regarding the Right Wing suppressing free speech. As a life- long liberal, I am appalled at my left winger friends succumbing to political correctness and forcing it down all others' throats. They have now become the new-fascists. Just look at the lectures at our universities being shut down. Everything is now targeted to be shut down unless it conveys the new liberal mentality. Frank would never be behind this mentality of social control. Big Brother has arrived, and guess what. He didn't come from the Right...But, still, a very good review. Good job.

A very frank Frank

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 23 June 2016]

Greetings again from the darkness. "More people know my face from a poster or a TV interview than have heard my music." It's an odd quote and one that probably doesn't fit any rock star other than Frank Zappa. Director Thorsten Schutte provides a no-frills look that is equal parts tribute for Zappa fans, and introduction to those who are unfamiliar with his life, words and work.

It's always been challenging to categorize or even describe the music of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Rarely utilizing traditional melodies, "experimental" may come closest, though most of his 60 plus albums were lumped into the Rock section. It certainly wouldn't be considered mainstream, though he did have a cult like following for decades.

Schutte's straightforward documentary approach uses only existing concert footage and interviews with Zappa (across the years). Plenty of music is provided to allow any first time listeners a chance to get a feel, but it's Zappa's own words that are most fascinating. He is mostly an open book … honest and forthcoming about his many opinions. He has been labeled as irreverent or offensive, but I prefer to view him as an observationalist or theorist … and a highly intelligent and articulate one at that.

Should one doubt his commitment to the music, listening to him elaborate on the distinction between artistic and business decisions should end the debate. As a married man with 4 kids, it's enlightening (and surprising to some) to hear his editorials on drugs, the music business, the media, and even politics. Many will remember his Senate battles going head to head versus Tipper Gore in her quest for warning labels on music. Zappa viewed this as censorship and eloquently stated the case as protection for artistic freedom. Schutte presents not just footage from the hearings, but also follow up interviews that Zappa participated in.

He died of prostate cancer in 1993, and his band was an ever-changing ensemble over the years, but Frank Zappa never shied away from speaking out against attempts to stifle the rights of artists, and he was a trail-blazer in utilizing a computer for composing music. He also directed films and videos, wrote editorials, and in a fascinating development, was hired as a cultural consultant for Prague … yet another piece of the unique life and career of Frank Zappa. "For Gail" indeed.

VIEWS ON FILM review of Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words

[burlesonjesse5 · 10/10 · 24 May 2022]

"I'm famous but most people don't even know what I do". So says Frank Zappa, a musical enigma, a maybe genius, and the doo-wop rock-and-roller from the 60s/70s. Hey I know what you did Frank. In my late twenties your tunes took charge on my CD player like clockwork (boy did I wear out that Apostrophe (') album).

With tons of interviews from Zappa himself and well-restored archive footage from three decades plus, Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words is a documentary without convention and it's all the better for it. Yeah it's told chronologically but the flick submits to newfangled free-form. After all, the late Frank Zappa had a little jazz in him (and jazz fusion/pop as well).

Zappa died in 1993 leaving a wall of sound legacy and a catalog of over 100 studio albums (I'm not kidding). "His Own Words" comes out twenty-three years later, putting Frank in almost every frame while avoiding the remnants of him being self-serving, grandstanding, and vanity-stricken. "His Own Words" contains more than fifty percent of its clips involving sound outs with Zappa and his tyranny for political and euphonious oppression. The guy had a supposed IQ of 172 and well, I could listen to him talk all day long.

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words is helmed by Thorsten Schutte. Schutte directs without rules as he lets Zappa let er rip by literally shutting down his interviewers. Thorsten's film floats by on a curvilinear gimmick, the gimmick that allows its subject (Frank of course) to gnaw on scenery and be a rather haughty specimen. "His Own Words" is probably my new favorite docu because you hear from the proverbial horse's mouth as opposed to everyone around him. I mean only Zappa can do Zappa. Natch.

Zappa was an outrageous figure but this documentary is fairly forgettable.

[whitbyscallyred · 6/10 · 13 July 2016]

There is no doubt that Frank Zappa was a genius, a cultural icon and an inspiration to many. Unfortunately this documentary is fairly forgettable.

The documentary relies almost completely on archive footage, from 1967 to just before Zappa's death in 1993. This comprises largely of concerts and interviews. This footage is informative and revealing. There is also lots of humour, either coming from Zappa himself or from his music.

The interviews however tended to reveal more about the media culture that Zappa lived in through the 60s, 70s and 80s than they revealed about the man himself. And although no doubt a very radical figure at the time, Zappa doesn't seem quite so radical when viewed from the year 2016.

The major flaw with the movie is that it lacks an emotional core; it lacks bite. We are simply shown a succession of footage with no great attempt to draw us in, or to tell a story. Zappa was a creative and outrageous figure, and yet this documentary of his life is fairly quiet and ultimately disappointing.

Takes us into the world of a fairly unique musician

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 24 January 2017]

"Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words" is a relatively long title, but it describes accurately what this 90-minute movie is about. It is a French/German co-production that focuses on the professional life by late artist Frank Zappa and as it is in "his own words" like the title says, it is exclusively in the English language. We see many interviews with the man, see him in Prague for example where the people love him, see how worried parents and politician see him as the reincarnation of the devil and also see a great deal of concert footage. I personally was not much aware of Zappa and his life and body of work before seeing this film by Thorsetn Schütte, but it got me curious. It is very obvious Zappa was not a man with great vocal talent or range, but one who made a career thanks to his individual approach to music-making that turned him into quite a renegade. So this one is mostly worth watching for how unique a character Zappa was. I personally liked how the film is mostly in chronological order from Zappa's early days of making music on a bicycle (even if I did not find it as funny as everybody else in the room) to his late days fighting cancer, which was pretty heartbreaking to see actually the last interview. There is little between loving and hating Zappa, between seeing him as a talented artist or a talentless clown and this was probably true back then as it is today. i would go for the "artist" description, even if there is no denying that many of his lyrics were actually intended to shock people and get people to talk about these lines. The perfect example for this would be the song "Bobby Brown", which is definitely the catchiest tune from the entire documentary. So yeah, I liked how Schütte let Zappa tell his own story here. No need for a narrator as all this old footage is telling enough about who he was and what he did. It's also not a film about Zappa's personal life. The only aspect there is how he says in one interview how long he has been with his wife, but that's it. I definitely learned a lot about an interesting artist here and this is enough for me to recommend checking it out as here we have certainly one of the better documentaries of 2017 (2016).

Zappa with Words

[arfdawg-1 · 6/10 · 10 September 2019]

I can't say I am the kind of Zappa fan who has all this albums. In fact, I have very few Zappa Albums and like very few of the tunes. But I always loved Zappa as a personality.

He was a fascinating dude and it's ashame that his kids are fighting over his legacy. It's also ashamed what happened to he and Don VanVliet.

Anyway, I enjoyed listening to the clips in this film. Don't expect to learn a real lot about Zappa. Just sit back and enjoy Zappa's pontifications.

Not enough about Frank's musicianship

[Bread-n-Circuses · 5/10 · 6 May 2017]

Like many music features and documentaries, this film focuses on the shock of the extraneous and the less important content of the musician's life - in this film, of the political input Frank had at one time. Frank called Tipper Gore, wife of Democrat Al Gore, and her crusade to label explicit lyrics "right-wing", if I heard that correctly. So Frank was not much of a political pundit, but he was an amazing, and talented musician, a Jimi Hendrix groupie and quite possibly the first rapper in his own world and ours. Not much of his music was included and what was, didn't include his best work. One could guess the producers had a hard time getting the rights to his best music. No mention was made that Frank was embraced as a serious musical composer in Frank's later years by peers such as Pierre Boulez. Frank Zappa was possibly the only musician to cross over from pop to serious music, rather it is more common to remember the many 'sell-outs' who went from classical to pop. The interview questions and answers were poorly selected, amateurish at best. A student film might have been better.