Pavements: A Bold Feat For Diehard Fans

Tasked with mythologizing a vaunted band such as ‘Pavement,’ writer/director Alex Ross Perry faced a daunting realization: what if this was all there was? When it comes to artists like Elvis Presley or The Beatles, audiences have a vast catalogue of films, documentaries, and adaptations to draw from. But the ’90s slacker-rock band may never reached the level of cultural saturation to convince studios to do this again — so why not make all the Pavement films at once? Split into multiple segments, Pavements is an ambitious experiment: a visual collage that is likely too unruly, scattershot, and lengthy to appeal to anyone but the most devoted Pavement die-hards, while chronicling itself into their mythology forever.

Pavements is divided into distinct sections: an off-Broadway musical, entitled Slanted! Enchanted!, that reimagines the band’s nonsensical, nonchalant lyrics as grandiose expressions of earnestness; talking-head interviews, archival footage, and concert clips that trace the band’s journey from conception to disbandment to their Primavera reunion show, reminiscent of Lance Bangs’ Slow Century; a faux news outlet documenting the band’s history as a museum exhibit; and finally, a fictional Hollywood biopic accompanied by a self-aware behind-the-scenes look at Joe Keery’s descent into madness as he struggles to channel the band’s lead singer, Stephen Malkmus.

From the opening text declaring Pavement “The World’s Most Important and Influential Band,” it is clear that Perry is less interested in accurately depicting the band’s history and more so, capturing what it means to engage with their music as an avid fan. The film adopts an idiosyncratic structure that mirrors the band’s eclectic persona (namely Malkmus’ string-of-thought lyricism and the band’s quirky humour), jumping between segments to examine influence, legacy, and the ways in which audiences engage with, repurpose, and reimagine art.

As a tribute, Pavements offers a striking snapshot in time and would serve as a fitting coda should the band end today. But for anyone not already a Pavement obsessive, the film is unlikely to win over any new audiences. That being said, the band can be off-putting, but in spite of this, their songs remain compelling. The film, however, is more intent on disorienting than illuminating, cramming in so many segments and cutting so frequently that its ideas rarely have space to breathe, even the concert footage, which never offers a performance of anything in full. Despite the sprawling runtime of just over 2-hours, when the film finally hits its big musical climax, nodding briefly to Soccer Mommy and Snail Mail cameos, the momentary catharsis is undeniably effective. Though by leaving so much left unsaid, it will leave audiences craving for more.

Above all else, what writer/director Alex Ross Perry and his team have accomplished is a bold, singular feat, but also a case of its parts being greater than their sum. And yet, if Pavements were an album, it would undoubtedly be Wowee Zowee: abrasive, sprawling, subversive, sincere, impossible to turn away from, and likely worth another spin.

Score: 60/100

still courtesy of Mubi

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J.A. Birney

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