Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me (2014)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Highly entertaining but at times very depressing documentary taking a look at Glen Campbell's final tour, which was a result of him coming down with Alzheimer's Disease. This documentary works in parts of showing what a great career Campbell has had as well as a look at the struggles of this final tour and the impact that the disease has had on his family.
I was lucky enough to see Campbell on his final tour in Louisville in 2012 and I was amazed at how well the show went. When you hear the disease you know what can happen so I was a little worried going into that show how the entertaining would handle it and I thought it was a highly entertaining show. After watching this documentary it certainly gave me a better understanding of the disease as well as what was going on behind-the-scenes of this tour.
The documentary works best as an education to people on what the disease does to one's mind and the impact it has on those closest to the person. We're introduced to Campbell's wife, son and daughter (who are in his band) as well as other members of the band and we get an up close and personal look at someone who is slowly forgetting everything. There are some really sad moments throughout the film including the daughter talking about the thought of her father not being able to remember her.
Throughout the documentary we get interviews with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Edge, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley as well as behind- the-scenes clips with Jay Leno and Paul McCarthy. Some of them share stories of Campbell's music while some share stories of how the disease has effected them. There's even talk from the family about some people's thoughts that Campbell was being exploited to go on this final tour and this is something I originally thought as well but the tour and this documentary really did do a great job at highlighting the disease.
GLEN CAMPBELL: I'LL BE ME also features plenty of live performances of the classic songs, which fans will enjoy. The entire documentary is hard to watch at times but it's certainly very rewarding.
