It
was a band that became an individual persona. Subsequently, that persona nearly
overwhelmed the person who adopted it. Vincent Furnier was a preacher’s son,
but as Alice Cooper, he toured with Vincent Price, appeared on The Muppet Show, and had his own Marvel
comic book. Yet, Cooper’s rock & roll lifestyle nearly killed the flesh and
blood Furnier. Furnier/Cooper and those who knew him take stock of his long,
strange trip in Reginald Harkema, Scot McFadyen, & Sam Dunn’s Super Duper Alice Cooper (trailer here), which screens
during the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.
Dubbed
a “Doc Opera,” Super Duper eschews
staid talking head shots, in favor of disembodied voice-overs, archival
footage, idiosyncratic animation, and of course a steady stream of music. The
film immediately introduces its Jekyll and Hyde theme with mood setting clips
from vintage horror films. However, Furnier/Cooper’s own words will drive the
point home. Furnier had come to Los Angeles with his high school garage band to
find their fame and fortune. They were not overnight successes. However, a late
night Ouija board session inspired the band to rename themselves Alice Cooper
in honor of Furnier’s past incarnation as a Salem witch. This being the 1960s,
the unconventional name stuck.
Eventually,
Frank Zappa signed Alice Cooper as sort of a male glam-rock band, but that was
not their destiny. Managed by Shep Gordon (who is also the subject of another Tribeca
doc), Alice Cooper slowly but steadily built a rabid following as a live band,
incorporating elements of horror movies into their stage shows. Increasingly,
Furnier became identified as Cooper, maintaining the identity when the band
broke up. All the usual crazy rock star stuff applied to the macabre rocker—raised
to the power of ten.
Yes,
there is a feast of Behind the Music-style
chaos in Super Duper, but it does not
glamorize any of it. Instead, it suggests there is nothing wrong with being the
child of minister. In fact, it is rather a good thing to have a forgiving
family support system to fall back on. Clearly, Furnier and the filmmakers
suggest it is more rewarding to be a father and a husband than a rock star, but
playing sold-out stadium tours sure helps pay the bills. The question of how
you keep your inner monster contained in its box is a compelling one that Super Duper duly explores in great
depth.
Nevertheless,
the Doc Opera is still a lot of fun. If ever a public figure left a trail of
intriguing visuals it would be Cooper. His music might not be to all tastes,
but how many other music docs incorporate footage of horror icons like Price
and Dwight Frye? At some point, you just have to tip your hat to his incredible
longevity, especially considering the extreme demands of being Cooper.
