Hey Is Dee Dee Home

Aging punkers and young fans of the exuberant music and lifestyle option termed “punk” will be well-served by this 2003 video bio of the late Dee Dee Ramone (nee Douglas Colvin), bassist for the Ramones, the band that started it all, inspiring the Clash, the Sex Pistols, and loads of other young artists who shook up a jaded rock world in the mid-to-late '70s. While Joey carved out a reputation as the witty Ramone, Dee Dee was the resident hellion, the band's indiscriminate imbiber, the Ramone who most wanted to be sedated. His ode to heroin, “Chinese Rock,” drew Johnny Ramone's ire and widespread criticism of the band for glorifying the drug. The bulk of this hour-long profile comes from a 1992 interview that director Lech Kowalski (D.O.A.) filmed with Dee Dee, in which the latter recalls those riotous days of copping, geezing, playing shows, watching friends' lives deteriorate, and more. Ostensibly there to describe his relationship with Johnny Thunders for Kowalski's unreleased film Born to Lose, Dee Dee delivers a thumbnail history of the New York punk scene through reminiscences about Thunders, Stiv Bators, Richard Hell, and the transporting appeal of the New York Dolls. Aged 40 at the time of filming, the emaciated Dee Dee looks a lot like other aging junkies (William S. Burroughs and Keith Richards, for instance), and though his thick speech at first makes one wonder about his mental capacities, he remains lucid throughout. The punk legitimacy of the production is underscored by misspelled chapter headings, such as "Coping dope" for copping dope and "Heroine guru" for heroin guru. DVD extras include a music video and a photo gallery. Due to the near constant drug references, some will opt to pass on this; still, it's recommended for rock music and pop culture collections. Aud: C, P. (M. Tribby)