It's About You (2010) Online

John Mellencamp - It's About You, a documentary by novice filmmaker Kurt Markus, isn't really about you. It's actually about Markus himself, and his experiences making this, his first film. Oh, and almost incidentally, It's About You also includes John Mellencamp and his music.

A professional photographer by trade, Markus and his son, Ian, follow Mellencamp on his 2009 U.S. tour. Exploiting the grainy, high contrast properties of Super 8 film, along with some digitally shot material, Markus attempts to evoke not the emotional content of Mellencamp's songs, but the emotion behind his own bleak views toward the decline of rural America. This is the America that we all think we know and cherish. It's the American culture celebrated in Mellencamp's Jack and Diane, Small Town, and Cherry Bomb. It's the loss of the American Dream lamented in Rain on the Scarecrow, Hard Times for an Honest Man, and Down and Out in Paradise. However, Markus never goes so far as to connect his thoughts with Mellencamp's music in any way. That would have been too... predictable? No, he peppers his Mellencamp footage with random images of battered barns, empty streets, and boarded up storefronts, as if to have us believe that nothing now lies between New York and California but miles and miles of cold, desolate wasteland. (Rest assured, I happen to know that it's actually full of WalMarts & Waffle Houses.)

Markus narrates the film in the slow, measured tone that accompanies many documentaries. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to recognize that this technique requires a distinct voice - Morgan Freeman, James Earl Jones, David McCullough - to really be effective. Without that distinction, his views only come across as defeated, disgruntled, and hopeless. Truth be told, many Americans currently do feel this way about their once great nation. Many have even protested in the streets to show it. Their mistake is that they have not, to date, followed up their grievances with a concrete effort to effect (or even agree upon) any real change. As a result, these protests have done little more than advance the arts of urban camping and creative littering. Markus succumbs to this same omission of effort toward proposing a positive course of action, causing what should have been an interesting musical journey to sadly collapse under the weight of its own cynicism.

As for John Mellencamp, we learn little more than that he has a fondness for using the f-word... and that his music is still pretty good.

Ultimately, John Mellencamp - It's About You is an interesting, if flawed, experiment in amateur filmmaking. For those readers actually interested in John Mellencamp (and after taking a moment of silence for the demise of the local record store), check out his catalog of songs. They're more about him.

It's About You (2010)

*** (out of 4)

Interesting documentary of John Mellencamp on his 2009 co-headlining tour with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. Those expecting to see the three together might be disappointed as this here is all Mellencamp but it does offer us an interesting look at him not only touring but also recording his album No Better Than This. This documentary is currently being shown on Mellencamp's "No Better Than This" tour as pretty much the opening act. I went to the 11/13/11 Louisville, KY show at the Palace wondering why we'd see a documentary before the actual concert and I was surprised at how well it worked. The documentary features several songs that you're going to be hearing in the actual show but they performance of the concert was so good that it really doesn't damage you by seeing them in this film. If you happen to come across this outside of the concert then you're in for a good time. There's not too much actual footage of Mellencamp speaking to the camera as the only time we really get to hear him talk is during a couple moments in between recording songs. The film does a very good job at trying to explain why Mellencamp is done with the pop albums and why this project was so personal to him. It also gives us a chance to see some rather famous recording sites where the singer/songwriter recorded them. I got to see Mellencamp a couple times during this 2009 tour including the Dayton, OH show where he first sang "Save Some Time to Dream" and there's no question he keeps getting better. The documentary lasts just under an hour and was shot on Super 8, which really gives it an original look. There's no question that there's a political message behind the picture but nothing that's going to beat you over the head or preach. Fans of Mellencamp should certainly show up at the concerts early to see the picture. Of course, it can't compare to the masterpiece that's the actual show.