Kurt & Courtney (1998)

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For such a "controversial" effort, this film does not have much bite.

Director Nick Broomfield's point of view is so unfocused, he himself admits he does not know where he is going with his reporting. The conspiracy theorists interviewed here come off as fringe dwellers at best, and unreliable at worst. The film eventually turns into a rock and roll version of "Roger and Me," as Courtney Love is half-heartedly tracked down to answer questions about Cobain. Grunge, just a form of punk, was on its way out when Cobain killed himself. The pathetic hangers-on that he left behind can do nothing but trash each other and continue to relive those heady days through obvious substance abuse. The only sympathetic subject here is Cobain's Aunt Mari, who plays tapes of Cobain's toddler rantings, as well as who recorded some of his early songs. She is the only person here who seems to have any affection for this troubled man. She reminds us that Kurt was like everyone else, just a kid who wanted to be a star.

The cutesy direction gets old, the camera runs as the crew approaches the subjects' houses. At one point, the filmmakers are thrown out of a building in a sequence put in just to show how intrepid the documentarians are. However, the best scene involves the director crashing an ACLU banquet, and watching this celebration of free speech get up in arms over someone trying to exercise that very right is hysterical.

Stats:
(1998) 95 min. (* *) out of five stars
-Directed by Nick Broomfield
-Featuring Courtney Love, Nick Broomfield, Kurt Cobain, Mari Earle, Tracy Marander, Alice Wheeler, Hank Harrison, Rozz Rezabek, Amy Squier, Tom Grant, Larry Flynt, Pat Smear, El Duce
(R)- Contains some violence, some nudity, profanity, adult situations, strong drug abuse references