We Are Twisted Fucking Sister! [2014] 720p [StB]

They were the Grand Funk of Glam and the NY Dolls of Metal. Some considered Twisted Sister a joke, others called them the greatest bar band in the world. While the microcosm of Punk/New Wave was taking over NYC in the mid 70s - early 80s, Twisted Sister was battling their way to the top of a vast - and unique to it's time - suburban, cover-band bar scene that surrounded NYC in a 100 mile radius, yet existed in a parallel universe. Guitarist, Jay Jay French, says, "the history of Twisted is really our 10 years clawing our way through the bar scene. It's who we are, and it's why we are, and why we do what we do." The film follows them from their beginnings as a cross-dressing glam band playing 4 shows a night, 6 nights a week in New Jersey bowling alleys and Long Island beach bars, to the suburban mega-clubs of the late 70s/early 80s, to their bust-out appearance on the UK rock TV show, "The Tube". Through it all, Twisted stood ready to do or die for the sake of "the show", giving their all to the crowd, and demanding full attention in return. They refused to play the usual bar band role of "human juke box for drunk and horny teens" - you were going to be entertained whether you liked it or not. They regaled their audiences with comedy rants, dragging them on stage for vomit inducing drinking games, engaging them in fits of disco record smashing and, at their most extreme, whipping them into club-destroying frenzy. The performances were low on style and heavy on the humor and attitude - but behind it all, always smart and full of self awareness. Spinal Tap may have been clueless but Twisted Sister knew exactly what they were doing. It was both a great living and a dead end because once you reached the peak - headlining clubs attracting audiences of 2, 3 or 5 thousand a night - there was nowhere left to go. Because as big as Twisted got on that circuit, in the eyes of the world, ie the music establishment, they were nothing but a bar band. If you think you know them from their hit songs, the MTV videos and their massive stadium shows, this is the story of how they became that band - full of strange, and often hilarious, twists and turns. It's about Rock 'n Roll and the business of Rock 'n Roll. It's about perseverance and things blowing up in your face. It's about finding yourself, finding your audience and doing literally anything, however wild, to connect with them. And even though we know how it ends, the roller coaster ride of getting there is what it's all about. A mesmerizing, and wickedly funny story of a 10 year odyssey to overnight success.