Review: Wendy O William & The Plasmatics

Wendy O William & The Plasmatics
10 Years of Revolutionary Rock & Roll

MVD
Street: 11.21.06

Wendy O Williams was unorthodox in the best way possible. She pushed the boundaries of what was deemed acceptable at every corner. The Plasmatics were one of the first groups to bridge the gap between punk and metal, Wendy pushed fashion boarders with her mohawk and skin bearing outfits, was an environmental advocate long before anyone else gave a fuck about greenhouse gasses and was the first female in a band with an unbridled aggression that scared the shit out of people. The woman was way before her time and this DVD does an excellent job of capturing that. The documentary includes over two hours of footage spanning their decade long career, including live shows, court appearances and interviews with band and crew members. The film is lacking due to their choice of narrator. She speaks without inflection, and way to fast. The Plasmatics were harder to swallow than any other punk band that came before them, and choosing a narrator with such a monotone voice just didn’t fit with the content of the film. Old articles written about the band would flash on the screen and disappear before I had a chance to read them. It would have been nice to read those blurbs for myself, instead of straining my ears to make out what the narrator was saying. I wish this was one of those DVD’s that you could turn the sound off on, and still understand what was going on. -Jeanette Moses