Derailroaded : Inside The Mind Of Larry 'Wildman' Fischer (EU)

Few documentaries about popular music and its creators have been as heartfelt or lovingly crafted as the Ubin Twinz production Derailroaded: Inside the Mind of Larry "Wild Man" Fischer (2005). Considering the emotional and at times logistical nightmare that the Twinz -- co-producers Josh Rubin and Jeremy Lubin -- recount in their full-length audio commentary, it is remarkable that the film has ever seen the light of day. Especially as it was Rubin and Lubin's debut project. The subject matter centers on the difficult life and career of Larry "Wild Man" Fischer -- a forefather of outsider music whose muse is the double-edge dagger of genius and manic-depressive paranoid schizophrenia. Superficial pop and rock denizens have long dismissed Fischer's work as the nonsensical ravings of a mental case. However, those with a decidedly more discerning aural palette -- such as Frank Zappa, Barnes & Barnes, Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh, and Weird Al Yankovic -- are but a few of the parties providing an artistic insight into the importance of Fischer's legacy. His predilection for unconventional behavior -- a reoccurring symptom of his illness -- is one of the primary factors preventing him from any modicum of financial success. In that respect -- as is stated in the film on a number of occasions -- he is by far his own worst enemy. Viewers are given access into Fischer's baggage and the obvious obstacles that any unwanted spawn of an abusive single parent might encounter after having been committed to a mental institution by said guardian. When he was eventually discharged, his family all but disowned him, forcing a survival of creating and selling "new and original" songs for spare change in and around the SoCal region. During that era, his fate would change significantly and irrevocably once Zappa entered the picture. The fruits of their musical intersection is the infamous and long out of print An Evening with Wild Man Fischer (1969). Even by late-'60s standards the double-LP was fairly far out and by some measures musically inaccessible. To others, it is a ray of pure, unfiltered emotive and spiritual intellect on par with very few recordings before or since. Fischer's one-time "novelty" appearance on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as well as excerpts of performance footage -- much of which comes from the private archive of Art Barnes (aka Bill Mumy) -- are evidence of the artist at his peak. The flipside of the disease is not glossed over as the cinema vérité style of filmmaking reveals Fischer in his day to day existence -- living in squalor, obviously unbathed and physically uncared for. Simply put, he is heartbreaking to observe as he spirals into a state of unfathomable psychosis right before our very eyes. In a positive postscript, Fischer ends up getting full-time psychiatric care. But was the price worth the cost? Ultimately, that is up to each audience member to determine for themselves. In addition to the nearly hour-and-a-half main feature, there are another 45-plus-minutes of deleted scenes, outtakes -- including a Rudy Ray Moore (aka Dolomite) one on one -- and a pair of absolutely riveting full-length commentaries. The first is by the two filmmakers as they give their insights behind getting Derailroaded made. The second is a montage of disturbing telephone conversations between Fischer and the filmmakers. Plus, there are a couple of odd answering machine messages from a variety of the participants. Unquestionably, Derailroaded: Inside the Mind of Larry "Wild Man" Fischer has reset the bar for indie documentaries from an artistic and emotive level alike. ~ Lindsay Planer|

Few artists have been as "tortured" by their success (or perhaps, lack thereof) as Larry "Wild Man" Fischer. Derailroaded (2005) is a moving, sensitive, and above all realistic journey to the center of Fischer's mind. Viewers are taken deep beyond the grooves of his so-called "outsider music" and into the artistry of a certified manic/depressive paranoid schizophrenic. The majority of Fischer's infamy and antics have been dismissed by the superficial pop world. Yet his association with Frank Zappa, Barnes & Barnes, and as the first act to be signed and recorded by Rhino Records lent him enough cachet to develop a loyal cult following. Yet the reoccurrence of Fischer's illness -- which yielded perpetually erratic behavior -- made him in many ways his own worst enemy. In that respect the film is as much about the effects his bipolar state has on his art as it is about the fact that the two are irrevocably intertwined. One of the most engaging aspects of the entire saga is the personal tragedy that Fischer had to overcome as an essentially unwanted child of an abusive single parent. In one moving interview, Larry's brother David Fischer describes the heartbreaking loneliness that plagued Larry as a child. They likewise discuss the incidences that led to their mother having Larry committed to a mental institution -- where he was kept medicated and sedated with shock-therapy treatments. Despite that, Fischer was able to remain focused on creating and selling his songs for spare change in and around Southern California. After being "discovered" and befriended by Zappa in the mid-'60s, the two made the highly influential An Evening with Wild Man Fischer (1969). While the double LP did not sell particularly well, Fischer was able to parlay his relationship into a guest shot on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and even live shows throughout the Los Angeles area. Many stories are told in first-person interviews by those who had worked with Fischer. Among the impressive list of his coterie were Gail Zappa and Frank Zappa -- the latter seen in vintage footage lifted from an excellent Dutch VPRO documentary -- as well as Dr. Demento, Barnes & Barnes, "Weird" Al Yankovic, Mark Mothersbaugh, Solomon Burke, and Fugly the Clown. In addition to the nearly hour-and-a-half main feature, there is another 45-plus minutes of deleted scenes, outtakes -- including a Rudy Ray Moore (aka Dolomite) one-on-one -- and two absolutely riveting full-length commentaries. The first is by the two filmmakers as they give their insights behind getting Derailroaded made. The second is a montage of disturbing telephone conversations between Fischer and the filmmakers. Plus, there are a couple of odd answering machine messages from a variety of the project's participants. Without question or hesitation, Derailroaded is an absolutely not-to-be-missed endeavor that should be viewed by any and everyone who thinks they know what the so-called "rock & roll life" is really about. Trust me, they don't. ~ Lindsay Planer