Better Than Something: Jay Reatard

Mar 2 2012 Not Rated 1h 29m
Biography, Documentary, Drama

BETTER THAN SOMETHING is an exciting and intimate portrait of Memphis-based punk musician Jay Reatard, who toured the world and released dozens of records over the course of a 15 year career that began in his mid-teens. Original and never-before-seen footage documents his self-made journey to iconic garage rock star, with colleagues, friends, and family speaking candidly about Jay's vibrant and complicated life. Jay Reatard himself - filmed just nine months before his untimely death at the age of twenty-nine - shares his experiences both on and off stage, with all the humor, savvy, and pathos one can expect from such a prolific and vital artist.

Plot

For Jimmy Lee Lindsay, life was a mosh pit. Whether it was growing up among crack addicts on the rough side of Memphis, or his years in the rough-and-tumble underground rock scene of the '00s, the man the world came to know as Jay Reatard always had to fight in order to create, to grow, to live, to rise above. For the first time, filmmakers Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz tell Reatard's difficult, tragic, and ultimately inspiring story, tracing his steps from a poverty-stricken childhood to his teen years as a two-fisted tunesmith slugging it out with fans and band-mates alike to his final years as a surprisingly thoughtful and restlessly creative man. While Reatard died too young, his music-and the story that made it possible-is as vital and thrilling as ever.

Written by

N/A

Directed by

Alex Hammond, Ian Markiewicz

Cast

Jay Reatard, King Louie Bankston, Shawn Foree

Crew

View crew

Awards

N/A

Scores
# of Votes
161
Average Rating
7.6 out of 10
Metascore
65
Popularity
NA