Which Classic to Watch Tonight: The Doors (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: The Doors (Movie Review)

Directer: Oliver Stone

Producer: Bill Graham, Sasha Harari, A. Kitman Ho

Writter: J. Randall Johnson, Oliver Stone

Starring: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley, Kevin Dillon, Kathleen Quinlan, Billy Idol, Josh Evans

Running time: 140 min.

The Doors is a 1991 biopic about the 1960s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson (Morrison's companion), Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger, Kevin Dillon as John Densmore and Kathleen Quinlan as Patricia Kennealy.

The film portrays Morrison as the larger-than-life icon of 1960s rock and roll, counterculture, and the drug-using free love hippie lifestyle. But the depiction goes beyond the iconic: his alcoholism, interest in the spiritual plane and hallucinogenic drugs as entheogens, and, particularly, his growing obsession with death are threads which weave in and out of the film. The film's tagline is: "The ultimate story of Drugs, Sex and Rock 'N' Roll."

"The Doors," like any Oliver Stone movie I've ever seen, is a big, too-long, unwieldy mess. But, all stylistic qualms aside, I enjoy it every time I watch it. It works not as a typical filmed story, but rather as sort of a hyped up documentary. In any event, it's got Michael Madsen in it--you gotta love that.

After wasting away my thirteenth year listening exclusively to Jim Morrison and friends, I approached this picture wearily--I am not typically fond of Oliver Stone, or Val Kilmer. I could not honestly imagine a more demonic pairing in my mind.

And everything I feared about the movie was true--Stone captures the manic energy of the Doors, but with way too much reverence. He's unable to see the Doors for what they were (cheesy rock band with some excellent songs); he obviously worships them as mythic rock Gods.

And, for the most part, his film is a true representative of their sound--all cock and bluster, with lots of flourishes thrown in to disguise the threadbare heart. But there's nothing wrong with that, because the narrative actually lives up to it's pretenses.

Stone sweeps the audience up, capturing the time perfectly. His movie has a free, meandering spirit, and the occasional flower-power overloads have their goofy charm (a trip to the desert is aesthetically pleasing, if not exactly respectable filmmaking).

And Val Kilmer IS Jim Morrison. The first time he begins to sing, it's almost painfully awkward--eyes closed, voice booming; it all reeks of faux white boy soul. But Kilmer has enough presence to overcome the essential cheesiness of portraying Morrison, and his quiet intensity is a joy to behold.

"The Doors" often wanders off into the wrong direction, but its energy is infectious and there's plenty of great music to keep us watching. The combination of these tunes and Stone's high minded approach form a cinematic mix that is at once enthralling and nauseating, kind of like two cars colliding.

He's crafted a winning valentine to one of the most celebrated bands of all time, and he's done so by celebrating the Dionysian excess instead of the music.

I think Jim Morrison would have appreciated the irony.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * (3 Stars)