‘Pavements’ Review: Alex Ross Perry Plays With Passion in a Genre-Defying Ode to ’90s Band Known for Disaffection
variety.comStephen Saito In Alex Ross Perry’s exuberant tribute to Pavement, Tim Heidecker gives a succinct descriptor of what made the band a staple of college radio stations in the ‘90s: “For kids who thought everything was stupid and everything sucked, they were your band.” In an era when rock stars gave up hours doing big hair in the makeup chair to instead wear the flannel they walked in off the street with, the band, fronted by Stephen Malkmus, cultivated a fan base that cared quite a bit when they looked like they didn’t care much at all, standing out in the grunge period for their ironic detachment and a general lack of pretense that belied the sophistication of their songcraft.
While passion didn’t necessarily appear to be part of Pavement’s persona, Perry feels obliged to overcompensate, declaring them to be “the world’s most important and influential band” in the opening minutes of his charmingly unabashed celebration — perhaps to curry favor with the uninitiated, but just as intent to convince the band of their own greatness.
It’s impossible not to be won over by the director’s efforts, which come to include at least four separate modes of production: a shoot with the band as they prepare for their first concerts in 12 years in the fall of 2022, an off-Broadway stage musical “Slanted!
Enchanted!” starring Michael Esper, Zoe Lister-Jones and Kathryn Gallagher, a gallery show “Pavements 33-22” set up like the Whitney Museum where some of the band’s members once worked as security guards and a shameless awards bait biopic “Range Life,” with members of the band to be played by Joe Keery, Nat Wolff, Griffin Newman, Logan Miller and Fred Hechinger.
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