Okay, so I was clicking channels last night...

[Blansky]

and as usual nothing on so I looked at some documentaries on bands/singers.

OMG the Garth Brooks -The Road I'm On was incredible. A 2 part documentary.

I'm not a big country music fan, but this was an excellently crafted and produced documentary about a guy who flew under my radar in a time I wasn't really following music very much. The character of this guy and his decision to shut it down at the peak of his career was amazing. I got teary eyed a few times and the guy who put this documentary together knows how to craft a story.

Another one I saw recently was Lynyrd Skynyrd -If I Leave Here Tomorrow.

Both are excellent and both on Netflix.

[Handey0465]

The IMDB reviews for the Garth Brooks documentary are hilarious.

I had to look after seeing you say it was incredible.

"I was on the fence as to whether or not I wanted to watch this, but I went for it. First, the guy whispers in all of his interviews in the recording studio. It's creepy. He seems like he is trying to be philosophical and create phrases that will hit everybody in the heart, and to help him achieve that, he whispers quietly and waves his arms. I kept waiting for him to say "We have to keep it down or we'll wake the baby that's sleeping in the next room..." The rest of it feels like Garth is standing behind the camera writing and directing all of what's being said so he can look good. Even the stuff he says is so cheesy it's just not believable. I feel like he had a fairly uncomplicated life and rise to stardom, but he found a way to drag it out into multiple episodes, and make it seem more dramatic than it was... Love the music, but strongly disliked this documentary."

"I know performers are egomaniacs by nature, but this guy takes it to a completely different level. Every word and scene of this "documentary" is contrived and designed to make him look like some kind of god and it achieves the exact opposite effect. His phony, over emotional interviews are just creepy. He whispers as if every single word he utters is wringing all the emotion from him, and he cries at the drop of a hat. The whole thing is sad and pathetic. I used to LOVE his music but I just can't recommend this. I lost a lot of respect for him after seeing this."

"If you want to see Garth Brooks cry a whole lot, watch this documentary."

"I was (and still am) a huge fan of Garth's music but this movie shows not only is the man a complete egomaniac, but the he is deluded if he thinks people don't see through the fake whispering and crocodile tears throughout the entire documentary. Really disappointed to see what the man is really like. They say never meet your heros, well, never let your heros make a documentary if they have nothing but nonsense to spout!"

"This is one of those times you think "this could've been so much better". I agree with some of the other reviews on here where it seemed like it was a self-promoting documentary. There's aspects of it I enjoyed just from a "oh I forgot about that" standpoint.

Too much of it seemed staged, especially as they are preparing for the big stadium concert there at the end, where he was giving them a peptalk. A pep talk to a band that has been performing in stadiums for 20 years.

And the constant close-ups with him whispering were a bit much."

"Garth is an alien, or a split personality I'm not sure. The episodes so far are just a grown man crying into a camera every 10 mins. He really needs to let all those people out of his basement, you can tell it's plaguing his mind."

"Wow, Garth is an emotional wreck. Every scene the dude is bawling his eyes out. I'm giving it 5 stars because it's quite comical. Wish there was less talking and more singing. No doubt he has one of the most beautiful voices."

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by Handey0465

The IMDB reviews for the Garth Brooks documentary are hilarious.

I had to look after seeing you say it was incredible.

"I was on the fence as to whether or not I wanted to watch this, but I went for it. First, the guy whispers in all of his interviews in the recording studio. It's creepy. He seems like he is trying to be philosophical and create phrases that will hit everybody in the heart, and to help him achieve that, he whispers quietly and waves his arms. I kept waiting for him to say "We have to keep it down or we'll wake the baby that's sleeping in the next room..." The rest of it feels like Garth is standing behind the camera writing and directing all of what's being said so he can look good. Even the stuff he says is so cheesy it's just not believable. I feel like he had a fairly uncomplicated life and rise to stardom, but he found a way to drag it out into multiple episodes, and make it seem more dramatic than it was... Love the music, but strongly disliked this documentary."

"I know performers are egomaniacs by nature, but this guy takes it to a completely different level. Every word and scene of this "documentary" is contrived and designed to make him look like some kind of god and it achieves the exact opposite effect. His phony, over emotional interviews are just creepy. He whispers as if every single word he utters is wringing all the emotion from him, and he cries at the drop of a hat. The whole thing is sad and pathetic. I used to LOVE his music but I just can't recommend this. I lost a lot of respect for him after seeing this."

"If you want to see Garth Brooks cry a whole lot, watch this documentary."

"I was (and still am) a huge fan of Garth's music but this movie shows not only is the man a complete egomaniac, but the he is deluded if he thinks people don't see through the fake whispering and crocodile tears throughout the entire documentary. Really disappointed to see what the man is really like. They say never meet your heros, well, never let your heros make a documentary if they have nothing but nonsense to spout!"

"This is one of those times you think "this could've been so much better". I agree with some of the other reviews on here where it seemed like it was a self-promoting documentary. There's aspects of it I enjoyed just from a "oh I forgot about that" standpoint.

Too much of it seemed staged, especially as they are preparing for the big stadium concert there at the end, where he was giving them a peptalk. A pep talk to a band that has been performing in stadiums for 20 years.

And the constant close-ups with him whispering were a bit much."

"Garth is an alien, or a split personality I'm not sure. The episodes so far are just a grown man crying into a camera every 10 mins. He really needs to let all those people out of his basement, you can tell it's plaguing his mind."

"Wow, Garth is an emotional wreck. Every scene the dude is bawling his eyes out. I'm giving it 5 stars because it's quite comical. Wish there was less talking and more singing. No doubt he has one of the most beautiful voices."

That's funny.

Check it out and see if you feel that way.

Crafting a documentary is an interesting exercise to make it watchable. I guess one of the masters is Ken Burns. Some of the music ones are basically a concert with some interviews.

This one is more of a life story with concerts and a lot of him in a static interview posture. Hie emotional response is generally about his kids and his parents.

Let me know what you think. Of course the critics could skew your view now that you've read them.

My emotional response is rarely the sob stories that try for emotion but rather the achievement of reaching goals.

[austinp]

Originally Posted by Handey0465

The IMDB reviews for the Garth Brooks documentary are hilarious.

I had to look after seeing you say it was incredible.

"I was on the fence as to whether or not I wanted to watch this, but I went for it. First, the guy whispers in all of his interviews in the recording studio. It's creepy. He seems like he is trying to be philosophical and create phrases that will hit everybody in the heart, and to help him achieve that, he whispers quietly and waves his arms. I kept waiting for him to say "We have to keep it down or we'll wake the baby that's sleeping in the next room..." The rest of it feels like Garth is standing behind the camera writing and directing all of what's being said so he can look good. Even the stuff he says is so cheesy it's just not believable. I feel like he had a fairly uncomplicated life and rise to stardom, but he found a way to drag it out into multiple episodes, and make it seem more dramatic than it was... Love the music, but strongly disliked this documentary."

"I know performers are egomaniacs by nature, but this guy takes it to a completely different level. Every word and scene of this "documentary" is contrived and designed to make him look like some kind of god and it achieves the exact opposite effect. His phony, over emotional interviews are just creepy. He whispers as if every single word he utters is wringing all the emotion from him, and he cries at the drop of a hat. The whole thing is sad and pathetic. I used to LOVE his music but I just can't recommend this. I lost a lot of respect for him after seeing this."

"If you want to see Garth Brooks cry a whole lot, watch this documentary."

"I was (and still am) a huge fan of Garth's music but this movie shows not only is the man a complete egomaniac, but the he is deluded if he thinks people don't see through the fake whispering and crocodile tears throughout the entire documentary. Really disappointed to see what the man is really like. They say never meet your heros, well, never let your heros make a documentary if they have nothing but nonsense to spout!"

"This is one of those times you think "this could've been so much better". I agree with some of the other reviews on here where it seemed like it was a self-promoting documentary. There's aspects of it I enjoyed just from a "oh I forgot about that" standpoint.

Too much of it seemed staged, especially as they are preparing for the big stadium concert there at the end, where he was giving them a peptalk. A pep talk to a band that has been performing in stadiums for 20 years.

And the constant close-ups with him whispering were a bit much."

"Garth is an alien, or a split personality I'm not sure. The episodes so far are just a grown man crying into a camera every 10 mins. He really needs to let all those people out of his basement, you can tell it's plaguing his mind."

"Wow, Garth is an emotional wreck. Every scene the dude is bawling his eyes out. I'm giving it 5 stars because it's quite comical. Wish there was less talking and more singing. No doubt he has one of the most beautiful voices."

I agree with a lot of this. I love Garth but he has always had a flair for the dramatics. Most of his fans love him for it but it is cheesy. That being said, if you ever want to 100% gaurantee yourself an excellent live show, Garth delivers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by austinp

I agree with a lot of this. I love Garth but he has always had a flair for the dramatics. Most of his fans love him for it but it is cheesy. That being said, if you ever want to 100% gaurantee yourself an excellent live show, Garth delivers.

Not having followed him through the years, I guess the question is, is he an emotional guy and wears his heart on his sleeve, or is it an act. Where to me it's credible is that emotion is felt by his fans and a huge part of his popularity. Not sure you can make that up and have it endure.

I have no idea.

I have a buddy that's a big burly guy who is like that. Just a big teddy bear that's very emotional.

Be interesting to hear the responses after people here see it.

[AF_Rob]

If you all want a big laugh, read his Instagram comments. If anyone is a fan of the comedian Tom Segura and his podcast, his fans harass him.

[AzPaul]

Last night, watched a 4 hour 'American Experience' on William Randolph Hearst.
Very interesting. At one point, they were talking to one of his grandsons who observed that what most people know about his grandfather, they got from 'Citizen Kane', which while based on Hearst, was still a fictional movie. Have to admit, I may have fit into that category myself.

[East Bay Rider]

His wife seems nice. My wife watches her cooking show sometimes. She had her dad's 1962 Chevy pickup restored.
I don't know much about Garth.