The Man with Plenty Stories: A Review of the Michael Monroe Documentary
‘Who is Michael Monroe? Great question!’
These are the first words to appear in the trailer of the recently released documentary about the Finnish rock musician Michael Monroe, spoken by Def Leppard’s beloved singer Joe Elliott. Similar comments continue being said throughout the trailer by some of the most well-known personalities of the rock music industry, which can be seen to set the premise for the documentary; Monroe is an entity cherished by many influential rock musicians, yet he is still quite the mystery. The music world knows him, but it also doesn’t. Monroe can in a way be called ‘the best kept secret [of rock music]’ - a title given to him also by the iconic Slash of Guns N’ Roses in both the trailer and the documentary itself.
If Michael Monroe is as big of a deal to you as he is to me, you may already know something about his path in life and his career as a rock musician. If not, here is a tldr version gathered together by me. Monroe was born in Helsinki in 1962 and got into music already as a young boy. Later in 1979 he became the lead singer of the worldwide known glam rock band Hanoi Rocks. From there the band’s passion for music took them to both Stockholm and London. Sadly, the band’s drummer, Razzle, died in a drunk driving accident just days before the band’s first USA tour in 1984, which ultimately led to the band splitting up. However, Monroe never gave up his passion for making music and a few years later he, according to Wikipedia, became the first Finnish artist to chart on the American Billboard 200. Unfortunately, his chances of making it big were once again cut short after some issues with his USA record label. Despite this, the man continued making music here and there. Between 2001 and 2009 Hanoi Rocks even managed to rise from the dead; after, the band however decided to once again split up. Following this Monroe has successfully continued making music solo, his latest album ‘I Live Too Fast To Die Young’ having been released last year.
Now that you, the reader, have some information on Michael Monroe’s eventful life, it’s time for my comments about his documentary. First, I must say that I’ve waited for it for a long time. I’ve been a fan of Hanoi Rocks and Monroe since I was in my early teens; I showed that by dressing very much like the band did back in the 80’s and by having big, dyed hair for the most part of my lower secondary school. Hanoi’s music has always represented freedom of societal expectations and dreaming big to me, which is probably why the band has an important place in my life even today. Monroe especially is an inspiration to me - both with his music and his more personal views about life. In 2019, I bought and read the biography about him as soon as it could be acquired, and since then I’ve patiently waited for a documentary about his life. I mean he is one of the best, so I knew they would make a movie out of him sooner or later.
Despite the countless ads (do movie theatres seriously need to play that many ads?) the documentary had before it even started, I found the overall experience very enjoyable. To be honest, the documentary was superb in my opinion; it had amazing and well executed visuals that included older videos, pictures of Monroe throughout his life and the filmed documentary footage itself. The jumps between Monroe’s younger self and his current older one weren’t confusing or unnecessarily stretched, but they served a purpose and kept the story interesting throughout the whole thing. Monroe’s mother was also a key figure in the documentary, which in my view added a warm maternal side to his masculine, raw experience.
When it came to the interviews and comments made by other rock musicians, such as the amazing Alice Cooper and Little Steven, I personally loved them. In my opinion they added depth into Monroe’s journey and showcased his character as a friend and a colleague, which to me is important since musicians are normal people like the rest of us. We fans might forget that these people have feelings and lives outside of the music industry, and in cases like Monroe’s, that life can often be hectic and rough. Additionally, I liked how the present-day footage of Monroe showed his growth both as a person and an artist. He talked about things that were hard for him back in the day, like the death of Razzle and his first wife, together with the mistakes he made as a young musician, but he also was able to think about the good things he had gained in life. He wasn’t bitter about the opportunities that had slipped away from him, but rather he talked about things like they all had served a bigger purpose.
The documentary also included a lot of recorded music from Monroe and footage of him playing songs live in the present day. I personally thought no song felt out of place; every song played a part in unravelling the story I was following on the screen. I got very emotional when they played ‘Tragedy’ and almost started crying, but that’s just because it’s my all-time favourite song from Hanoi Rocks. Thus, I can’t guarantee you, the reader, will experience a similar reaction. Nevertheless, the general audio ambience was rich and polished, which made the experience more engaging, and Monroe’s music also entertains those who don’t know it. Perhaps one can even find a song they wish to add to their playlist afterwards.
I could honestly ramble on and on about why Michael Monroe is one of the best rock musicians ever born and why everyone should see the documentary but for the sake of this reviews’ length I won’t. You as the reader might still be wondering whether or not the documentary works for someone who doesn’t know Monroe nor his life that well. In my humble opinion, yes it does. The documentary is less than 2 hours long and its visuals, audio and guest interviews make it both informative and entertaining. The story is easy to follow, and the documentary comes with Finnish subtitles for the parts where English is spoken. I personally think the documentary is a very good place to start if you don’t know Monroe at all, and it suits you more than better if you simply don’t wish to find out more than necessary about his life. If you, however, do want to find out more after watching the documentary or just prefer reading to watching movies, I recommend picking up Monroe’s biography ‘Michael Monroe’ written by Ari Väntänen. The documentary mentions all the same main events as the book, but the book often digs deeper into Monroe’s thoughts and some details, which were left in the shadows on the screen.
From the point of view of a long-time Hanoi Rocks and Michael Monroe fan, this documentary gets ⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5 stars from me. I would’ve liked the documentary to be a bit longer and it could have discussed the heavier topics more in depth. Furthermore, they could have added both Swedish and English subtitles for the parts where Finnish is spoken so the documentary could be viewed by more people. Because of these points, the documentary loses one star for me. I still encourage everyone even slightly interested to go see it!
The picture used together with this review is permitted under Fair Use
Sources used:
Michael Monroe documentary trailer & the documentary itself (Kaiho Republic)
