Courtney Love may be the undisputed Grunge-era poster girl for drug-fuelled excess, but she isnt the only person to have barely made it out of Hole alive.
The bands red-headed, openly gay drummer, Patty Schemel, came dangerously close to following in the tragic footsteps of Holes original bassist Kristen Pfaffnot to mention Loves husband Kurt Cobainand her personal story is candidly shared in the intimate documentary, Hit So Hard.
Built around over 40 hours of never-before-seen home movie footage taken by Schemel around the time of the bands acclaimed 1994-95 Live Through This world tour, P. David Ebersoles film has an inescapable Behind the Music feel, but Schemels engaging presence (and her souvenir videotapes) make it quite watchable.
Originally shot in Hi-8, that material, which also includes some tender family footage of Cobain, Love and their then infant daughter Frances Bean, establishes a real sense of place and time for the Seattle alt-rock movement, which hit its stridegasp20 years ago with the smash success of Nirvanas Nevermind album.
Schemel, whose rhythmically raw style caught the Nirvana front mans attention (she was at one point considered as the potential new drummer for the band before Cobain ultimately went with Dave Grohl), possesses the calmly reflective, non-accusatory voice of someones who has dealt with her demons and has been able to move on with her life.
Her often colorful recollections are supplemented with some equally astute commentary from her old band mates, Eric Erlandson, Melissa Auf der Maur and an especially lively Love-Cobain as well as a line-up of veteran female rockers, including Veruca Salt founder Nina Gordon, and drummers Gina Schock (The Go-Gos), Debbi Peterson (The Bangles) and Kate Schellenbach (The Beastie Boys).
Those girl drummers are also given their due during the films closing credit sequence, which also pays tribute to the likes of Sheila E., Karen Carpenter and Melody, the decidedly animated drummer for Josie and the Pussycats.
Cast: Patty Schemel, Melissa Auf der Maur, Eric Erlandson, Courtney Love Cobain
Director: P. David Ebersole
Screenwriters: P. David Ebersole & Todd Hughes
Producers: Todd Hughes, Christina Soletti
Photography: Larra Anderson, Mark Putnam, John Tanzer
Music: Roddy Bottum
Editor: P. David Ebersole
Not rated, 103 minutes.
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