Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2019
Images from the Internet
Room 37: The Mysterious Death of Johnny Thunders
Directed by the Cordero Brothers (Fernando and Vicente)
Industrialism Films / Cleopatra Entertainment / MVD
Entertainment
101 minutes, 2019
When the trailer for
this film dropped earlier this year, many Johnny Thunders/The New York Dolls/The
Heartbreakers (etc.) fans lost their minds in the loosey-goosey way Thunders
was portrayed. Yes, from the trailer. I’m also a fan of Thunders (d. 1991), and
saw him play dozens of times.
But here’s the thing
about biographic films: they’re nearly all filled with bullshit and
inaccuracies. People and events are either omitted or combined, stuff is made
up and changed for “dramatic purposes” and so there are going to be those who
will see a biopic and cry foul, and others will just enjoy wherever the story
leads as long as the soundtrack blasts it just right. Just look at the
reactions to these three films released recently: The Dirt (2019; about
Motley Crüe), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018; Queen/Freddie Mercury) and Rocketman
(2019; Elton John). Love it or hate it, the accuracy level is pretty low or,
more precisely, over the top.
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| Leo Ramsey at the beginning of the film |
But there is another
level of biopic which is for all practical purposes a separate category, and
that’s the flight of fancy. This is easily seen in films like Sid and Nancy
(1986; Vicious and Spungen) and especially Velvet Goldmine (1998; David
Bowie and Iggy Pop). Here, we take a real person or situation and then take it
to the metaphysical fiction. This is where I would place Room 37. It’s
not really a biopic about Johnny Thunders (JT), it’s what they call in comic
book land, a “what if” story. This is also the way it should have been
promoted, in my opinion.
Another issue
is the overlapping of the real. What I mean by that is while this is a largely
fictionalized version of JT, when he gets a phone call from his ex-New York
Dolls co-guitarist, Sylvain Sylvain, the voice – easily recognizable – is
definitely Sylvain’s. And the music video that accompanies the film, “Crazy
Kids,” is by Walter Lure, JT’s co-guitarist in the Heartbreakers, indicating
there is some lukewarm credibility.
So, with that in mind,
note that I will be reviewing this as a fantasy, not as a biopic (though with
some overlap, of course, as Thunders was a real person, and so was some of his
situations presented here). If you want the real deal about the man,
check out Danny Garcia’s excellent documentary, Looking for Johnny: The
Legend of Johnny Thunders.
In real life, when JT went to New
Orleans to stay at St. Peter’s Guest House, he’d been reportedly clean for a
while except for methadone, but was also in the later stages of Leukemia. Here,
he is fighting to “get clean.” When he was in The Heartbreakers, they sang “Too
Much Junkie Business” (which is also named dropped in the story, along with
other Heartbreakers’ tunes) in the place of Chuck Berry’s “Too Much Monkey Business,”
as drugs are like having a monkey on your back, as the saying goes. Another
metaphor for getting clean, of course, is going through hell, so this is where
the film is leading us. Right from the start, the hints begin with the hotel proprietor (Jimbo
Barnett, whose NoLeans accent comes and goes), in his red vest, saying “I’ll be
damned if one of our maids haven’t already cleaned it for ya.” The opening hand
has been dealt. And room 37 looks about as peaceful as room 237 at the Overlook
Hotel; both also deal with the tub being central, but for this film, it is a symbol
for death as the original drummer of the New York Dolls, Billy Murcia, died in one.
Here’s some
notes about the film’s version of JT as opposed to seeing him in reality; I
never did hang out with him (honestly, I was a chickenshit who was intimidated
by him and the drug culture around him in general, so I’d go see the bands,
have my one drink and nurse it through the night, and then go home to shower
before heading off to Queens College without sleep). On stage, you never knew
what you were going to get, the on-fire JT who would tear it up, running one
song into the next, or the stoned JT who’s tongue would whip around his lips,
or be so out of it that he had trouble fingering his chords (I remember one
really bad night at Irving Plaza), but the latter was more rare. One of JT’s
traits was to whip around the stage especially during the instrumental parts.
Near the
beginning of the film, fictional JT performs while the album version of “Born
to Lose” from the Heartbreakers’ L.A.M.F. plays on the soundtrack (why didn’t
they use one from Live at Max’s instead, like “Let Go”?). Interestingly,
the Dolls are often name-dropped, but not the Heartbreakers. When Leo Ramsey impersonates
JT onstage, he kinda stays in one spot; JT was a whirler who would own
the stage by covering as much of it as possible, sometimes jerking around it (and
the chords on the guitar) like a ball in a pinball game. After a swan dive off
stage in the film, JT states, “Happens all the time…” Oh, no it didn’t as far
as I remember.
Ramsey plays JT
as very low key for a big personality; from what I understand, JT could be a
sweetheart with a sharp sense of humor or a conniving trickster, depending on
mood or need of drugs. Here, he’s fidgety, more like late 1970s-early ‘80s days
than near the end, but he’s actually okay as JT… at least a fictionalized
version of him.
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| Devin McGregor Ketko |
The cast does
well in general, and the camera seems to love to focus on what seems to be the
only maid in the entire hotel, Iris (Devin McGregor Ketko, who reminds me of a
young Mary Woronov). She also seems to be there more for JT to talk to, as a
device for the audience to gain some exposition. On a side note, it’s nice to
see Kelly Erin Decker in a cameo as a hospital receptionist.
Lots of names
are thrown around here (David, Sylvain, Jerry, Arthur; “The Kids are Back,” “Chinese
Rocks,” etc.) that fans would recognize but the average viewer would be perplexed.
As someone who knows the backstory, I could smile, especially when I recognized
Sylvain’s real and easily-identifiable voice on the phone (though I wonder if
he regrets lending it now; and get well, Sylvain!).
As the film
progresses and JT spirals down after his money and methadone are stolen. JT’s
hair seems perpetually greasy for some reason; as the story progresses JT gets
more and more desperate and ragged looking. This may be the filmmaker’s way of
indicating the leukemia, which causes sweating, a wan pallor and easy bruising
(among other symptoms). JT continues to look more and more like a zombie/living
dead creature, with racoon eyes and onion paper skin, stumbling around as he involuntarily
detoxes. By the end, he’s looking more like MJ (Michael Jackson) than JT.
The big
extras, of course, are the three discs, with the film available in High
Definition Blu-ray, DVD, and the soundtrack CD. Other than that, what is offered
is the trailer, a slideshow that is based on screen shots alone (while the
acoustic version of “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory” plays), and a
bunch of other cool Cleopatra trailers. As for the soundtrack CD, well, the
first six songs are great, but the rest is pretty much filler. Better to pick
up the Dolls’ and Heartbreakers’ collections, and JT’s classic So Alone
LP.
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| Leo Ramsey towards the end of the film. |
The film tries
hard for symbol-ism, and it’s very stylized with a dingy tone thanks to some
lens filters. Some have said this is more “horror,” but more likely possibly
supposed to be “drug influence” as LSD was found in JT’s system at time of
death (no other lethal level of drugs), thanks to a large dosing by someone.
And yes, his money was missing when they found him, though the story adds more mystery
to it. The filmmakers imply that much of what is happening in the film is part
of his hallucinations from the LSD, but does not indicate (wisely) what is due
to cinematic reality or within the character’s (JT’s) head. This works pretty
well most of the time, though there is a whole hospital sequence that begins
the final act that is a bit ridiculous; that being said, a couple of good jump
scares are included.
Overall, it’s
not a bad film, but not a great one either. I realize a contingent of JT’s fans
are boycotting the film, but while I understand that sentiment, I think it’s
better to approach this as fiction rather than biographical in any way, as I
stated earlier. That being said, the end of the film gives us some title cards
about Johnny’s Leukemia and lack of high drug levels during his autopsy as if
to atone for the fiction part of the story.
CD Soundtrack Listing:
1. Born to Lose – Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers
2. Stranded in the Jungle (Live Paris 1974) – New York Dolls
3. Alone in a Crowd – Johnny Thunders
4. Crazy Kids – Walter Lure and The Waldos
5. There’s Something Wrong – Sylvain Sylvain
6. You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory (Rare Version) – Johnny Thunders
7. Ms. Alexander – Jürgen Engler
8. Ghost in the Hall – Jürgen Engler
9. Dreaming Within – Jürgen Engler
10. Crow in the Tub – Jürgen Engler
11. The Wheels Under the Door – Jürgen Engler
12. Jimmy’s Blood – Jürgen Engler
13. Eagle’s Lair – Jürgen Engler
14. Bourbon Street – Jürgen Engler
15. Head Phones – Rusted Robot
16. The Guitar – Rusted Robot
17. The Morgue – Rusted Robot
18. Hospital Chase – Rusted Robot
19. Pillow Talk – Rusted Robot
20. Namira – Rusted Robot
21. Give a Man a Mask – Rusted Robot
22. Not Afraid Anymore – Rusted Robot
23. Room 37 – Rusted Robot
1. Born to Lose – Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers
2. Stranded in the Jungle (Live Paris 1974) – New York Dolls
3. Alone in a Crowd – Johnny Thunders
4. Crazy Kids – Walter Lure and The Waldos
5. There’s Something Wrong – Sylvain Sylvain
6. You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory (Rare Version) – Johnny Thunders
7. Ms. Alexander – Jürgen Engler
8. Ghost in the Hall – Jürgen Engler
9. Dreaming Within – Jürgen Engler
10. Crow in the Tub – Jürgen Engler
11. The Wheels Under the Door – Jürgen Engler
12. Jimmy’s Blood – Jürgen Engler
13. Eagle’s Lair – Jürgen Engler
14. Bourbon Street – Jürgen Engler
15. Head Phones – Rusted Robot
16. The Guitar – Rusted Robot
17. The Morgue – Rusted Robot
18. Hospital Chase – Rusted Robot
19. Pillow Talk – Rusted Robot
20. Namira – Rusted Robot
21. Give a Man a Mask – Rusted Robot
22. Not Afraid Anymore – Rusted Robot
23. Room 37 – Rusted Robot
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