Moby Doc, the new film by multi-millionaire "musician" Moby about himself, has pretty much anything & everything one could ask for: Intense narcissism, complete pretentiousness, drama, lightness, darkness, animation, cuteness, a rags to riches story & yes, music, although that last one could be debated.
Moby commissioned the film to be made. (That'll give you a glimpse into the narcissism). Needless to say, no director would be interested enough to approach him to do it.
His story isn't that unique or spellbinding.
He narrates his tale of a child with abusive & mostly absent parents who, although poor, manage to move to one of the wealthiest towns in Connecticut. Here, he paints a picture of a child being a loner without many friends who ultimately finds his salvation in music.
He goes on to speak of moving into an abandoned warehouse where he begins to search for musical expression. Although constantly restating how poor he was, somehow, he's able to purchase electronic equipment including FX boxes, a cheap keyboard, records & turntables. He talks of doing gigs as a DJ where he made $25 per night. Even if he DJ'd 3 nights a week, $75 isn't nearly enough to buy equipment, let alone enough food to survive on. There's something a little off here, a feeling that recurs throughout. He becomes an alcoholic but not addicted enough to be able to afford to move into Manhattan where his notoriety as a DJ grows. Still, he insists of his alcoholism to the point of staging a scene where he's lying face-down on a NYC street, having a couple of girls pass him by saying, "Hey, that's Moby."
All through the film one is struct by, through every period of his life, there are tons of photos & videos that were made capturing his narcissism from childhood to the present.
His life progresses & he becomes successful as a "musician" making mostly EDM records. His musical prowess consists of playing guitar & piano at a level that any serious student could attain in 3 years of study. Still, one must admit that he's very good at operating musical & music-related devices to create his sound.
As he continues to profess his woes, even through success, he has no problem drowning the viewer in endless videos of his performances, appearances, videos & interviews, as well as what he considers more artistic shots such as him just standing on a mountaintop over looking a Grand Canyon type area. A king overseeing his minions. But even with his massive success, he's not completely happy. He shows scenes with a "therapist", most likely played by an actress, where he speaks of how hard it's been for him to deal with every album after his huge hit "Play" selling less than the previous one. Poor guy. I know musicians with more talent in an atom of their little finger than he has who would be thrilled with just a tiny speck of the status he's achieved.
As for the music, this is where the film becomes pure comedic joy. His songs usually consist of 4 or 8 bar melodies repeated ad nauseum over an electronic dance beat (although there are some ballads but still using the 4 or 8 bar structure). This reaches its pinnacle when there are videos of him rehearsing & performing his material with a symphony orchestra (also commissioned no doubt). It's laugh-out-loud funny to see him hunched over a grand piano with an intense look while the orchestra makes its way through his 4 & 8 bar repeated phrases. Whoever arranged these pieces must've had quite a time trying to find ways to use the orchestra differently with each repetition. Moby's no dope, though. He recruits excellent vocalists to give some emotion to his phrases which salvages any musicality there is to be found there.
In just about any documentary about a musician, you're bound to find interviews with a number of his associates singing praises about the subject. There's none of that here. I can't imagine that he didn't try to recruit some but, alas, no luck. The only outside interview of note is with filmmaker David Lynch who Moby's been kissing up to for years. Abandoned factories are one of Lynch's loves & Moby makes no mistake in bringing that up when speaking with him, giving the viewer pause to think that, just maybe, he's stretching the truth.
Still, overall, I enjoyed the film, especially when he speaks of his dedication to animal rights & veganism. I also actually enjoyed his narcissism & pretentiousness. That someone can think so much of themselves to lay it bare for all to see is great comedy & very entertaining. Have you ever heard a rock star refer to himself as a rock star? Well, Moby does here.
I've always said that I like everything about Moby except his music & that holds true here although, especially with the addition of the orchestra, I totally enjoyed it for its comedic value. I'll continue to follow him, if only to see what new forms his love of himself will take. He is very creative in that way. Recently, he photoshopped himself onto the cover of Rolling Stone. In your dreams, Mobes, in your dreams.
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