MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 5,409 this week

New York Doll (2005)

7.7
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.7/10 from 1,241 users   Metascore: 72/100
Reviews: 50 user | 64 critic | 17 from Metacritic.com

A recovering alcoholic and recently converted Mormon, Arthur "Killer" Kane, of the rock band The New York Dolls, is given a chance at reuniting with his band after 30 years.

Director:

0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 629 titles created 29 May 2011
 
a list of 184 titles created 12 Feb 2012
 
a list of 28 titles created 10 months ago
 
a list of 2031 titles created 15 Aug 2011
 
a list of 937 titles created 4 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: New York Doll (2005)

New York Doll (2005) on IMDb 7.7/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of New York Doll.
2 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Dig! (2004)
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

A documentary on the once-promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, and the friendship/rivalry between their respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor.

Director: Ondi Timoner
Stars: Anton Newcombe, Courtney Taylor-Taylor, Joel Gion
Rock School (2005)
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

At the real life School of Rock a group of misfit kids get in touch with their inner rock star.

Director: Don Argott
Stars: Napoleon Murphy Brock, Tucker Collins, Will O'Connor
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  
Directors: Steven Cantor, Matthew Galkin
Stars: Frank Black, Kim Deal, David Lovering
Rize (2005)
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

Rize chronicles a dance movement that rises out of South Central Los Angeles with roots in clowning and street youth culture.

Director: David LaChapelle
Stars: Larry Berry, Tommy the Clown, Dragon
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

A documentary crew followed Metallica for the better part of 2001-2003, a time of tension and release for the rock band, as they recorded their album St. Anger, fought bitterly, and sought the counsel of their on-call shrink.

Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
Stars: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

A documentary on thirty years of alternative NYC rock 'n roll.

Director: Scott Crary
Stars: Ron Albertson, Angus Andrew, Tristan Bechet
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

An innovative concert movie for the rock group The Talking Heads.

Director: Jonathan Demme
Stars: Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steven Scales
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

Sam Dunn is a 30-year old anthropologist who wrote his graduate thesis on the plight of Guatemalan refugees. Recenly he has decided to study the plight of a different culture, one he has ... See full summary »

Directors: Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, and 1 more credit »
Stars: Chris Adler, Tom Araya, Gavin Baddeley
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

First-time filmmaker and award-winning photographer Sam Jones documents the recording of Wilco's album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot."

Director: Sam Jones
Stars: Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Leroy Bach
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

A film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robbie Robertson, Neil Young, Van Morrison
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

A documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.

Director: Davis Guggenheim
Stars: Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

In 2007 the legendary American duo White Stripes toured Canada. Besides playing the usual venues they challenged themselves and played in buses, cafés and for Indian tribal elders. Music ... See full summary »

Director: Emmett Malloy
Stars: Maria Durham, Jack White, Meg White
Edit

Cast

Credited cast:
Nina Antonia ...
Herself
Bishop Bragg ...
Himself
Clem Burke ...
Himself
Leee Black Childers ...
Himself
Steve Conte ...
Himself
...
Himself
...
Herself
Frank Infante ...
Himself
...
Himself
Mick Jones ...
Himself
Arthur Kane ...
Himself
Barbara Kane ...
Herself
Brian Koonin ...
Himself
Dawn Laureen ...
Herself
Don Letts ...
Himself
Edit

Storyline

A recovering alcoholic and recently converted Mormon, Arthur "Killer" Kane, of the rock band The New York Dolls, is given a chance at reuniting with his band after 30 years.

Add Full Plot | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

one man. two journeys. See more »

Genres:

Documentary | Music

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

28 October 2005 (USA)  »

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$17,583 (USA) (28 October 2005)

Gross:

$217,655 (USA) (10 March 2006)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Color:

See  »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Not Your Average Epiphany
2 January 2006 | by (Park City) – See all my reviews

Religious conversion stories are often dreadfully boring to all but fellow believers. Too often they are tales of interesting lives of despair lifted by a higher power to lives of less-than-fascinating virtue. I don't mean to imply criticism of epiphanies in any form. But it is an axiom of sectarian movie marketing that the religiously inclined will tolerate the blandest of cinema if packaged faithfully, and that's often what they get.

I was expecting more of the same when I heard about New York Doll at Sundance last year. This is the story of Arthur "Killer" Kane, bass player for the legendary New York Dolls rock 'n roll band of the '70's. For those that didn't follow the pop music scene back then, the Dolls were one of the hardest-edged, most controversial groups of their era. Forerunners of the punk movement, they paraded in drag and set the stage for later bands such as The Sex Pistols, The B-52's and The Clash.

Like so many other punk bands, the Dolls fell victim to excesses and addiction. Kane, known for his "killer" bass lines, was sometimes too drunk to perform, and would simply stand on-stage with a bass around his neck while a roadie filled in for him. (However, since Kane was known for his wooden posture on stage, it may have been hard to tell whether he was really playing or not!) After a meteoric four years, the Dolls dissolved and Kane drifted into alcoholism and obscurity, only reclaiming his life with his 1989 conversion to Mormonism and work at the LDS Family History Center in Los Angeles.

But despite his discovered spirituality, he always harbored the desire for the band to reunite and play again. His seemingly impossible dream was realized in 2004, when Morrissey (The Smiths) engineered a reunion of the Dolls for the London Meltdown Festival.

Director Greg Whitely crafts a warm and engaging story set to this strange juxtaposition. Kane is an intriguing personality—simple, friendly and honest, he talks wistfully of his days of drugs, sex and rock and roll ("some of my fondest memories," he says) yet never wavers from his commitment to his Mormon faith. Interspersed in the reunion story are thoughts on Kane from Mormon co-workers and religious leaders as well as punk rockers Morrissey, Sir Bob Geldof (of Boomtown Rats and then Live Aid fame), Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, Iggy Pop and others.

But the drama is the reunion itself. Two of the Dolls died in the early 90's, leaving Kane, guitarist Sylvain Sylvain and singer David Johansen. Of the three, Johansen found the most success post-Dolls, both as an actor as well as singing under the alter-ego Buster Poindexter (remember "Hot, Hot, Hot"?). Kane resented Johansen for nearly three decades, and the tension is palpable when the singer arrives (over a day late) for rehearsals. While time and hard living have clearly slowed, humbled and mellowed Kane, in contrast Johansen comes across like Mick Jagger—a youthful glam rocker in a craggy-faced, 50-year-old body. While Kane appears non-plussed by the experience, Johansen is still energized by the spotlight.

What is truly touching is how they resolve their differences, rekindle their relationship and develop mutual respect. Kane tries to explain his religion to a bemused Johansen, including the Mormon principal of tithing—"It's like an agent's fee," he explains. "It's only 10 percent. It's a pretty good deal." New York Doll is a well-executed and compassionate documentary that will warm the hearts of faithful and heathen alike. Whitely clearly cares deeply for Arthur Kane, who seems to have touched the lives of everyone—even those from the Dolls' era. And it's impossible not to like Kane, who is so sincerely grateful for his good fortune—his past, his faith and his chance to once again be a New York Doll. This is a tender story with a bittersweet ending, which I won't give away. I will tell you to keep watching as the credits roll, because there's a song you won't want to miss.


34 of 35 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
What about Alice Cooper? ted_shuttleworth
IS THERE A SOUNDTRACK????? kerbearrn
Morissey song at the end? jamfry17
Sad + Moving girlyalias99
Mormon filmmakers? jgonzsf
DVD? ryanvonr
Discuss New York Doll (2005) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page