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This guy is bitter

Allister Fiend | Baltimore, MD United States | 09/02/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Waking Up Dead is not exactly what I was expecting. Based on the reviews I'd read prior to the film's release in theaters, I thought this would be a wild ride with an out-of-control junkie b-level rocker desperate for success. Instead, it's pretty tame. Varone clearly has (had) a cocaine problem, but he wasn't the crazed drug addict I expected. So in that regard, this documentary wasn't as wild as I thought it might be.

On the other hand, I was impressed by how honest Varone was about his finances (or lack thereof). At one point, the camera zooms in on the computer screen to show his bank account of $1.57. It is amazing that a musician can sell as many records as Varone has and have so little. The evil recording industry takes another victim...right?

That's certainly what Varone thinks. He blames his every problem on the industry. Sure he should have more in his pocket after all these years, but shouldn't at least some of the blame fall on Varone himself? Let's face it: he would have more money if he hadn't spent $1000 a week on coke. But the industry was to blame there, too...right?

Not once in this entire film does he take any responsibility for his actions. He says people were always around, offering drugs & alcohol & anything he wanted, and now he's broke & hooked on drugs. He had plenty of enablers around him, and that's gotta be tough, but at the end of the day, he did what he did to himself.

I met Phil Varone after a show in Baltimore a few years ago. He was really friendly, cracked some jokes, signed my CD & let me get a photo with him. I left that show thinking he was a cool guy. After 90 minutes of hearing him refer to women as b*#ches over & over and how everyone on the planet has wronged him, I feel bad for the guy & I liked him a little less. Bitter is probably the best word to describe him. Hopefully the guy is on a better path now.

"

Amazing

Richard F. | California | 06/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the grittiest and hardest hitting films I have ever seen about rock & roll. It is a reminder that fame and fortune doesn't come easy and often there is collateral damage to family and friends. The movie was riveting from start to finish. Warning: This film is extremely graphic and disturbing, no one under 17 should be able to see this. 5 stars!"