Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise

If Marvin Lee Aday, aka Meat Loaf, had only released the 35-million-copy selling Bat Out of Hell, his reputation would be secure. In Search of Paradise documents five weeks out of the Grammy Award winner's 18-month tour in support of 2006's Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. Despite Meat's credit as executive producer, director Bruce David Klein dodges the puff piece bullet with this unvarnished look at an exacting, mercurial talent as he travels north from Burbank, CA and throughout Canada. Actor Dennis Quaid, who guests on Van Morrison's garage-rock anthem “Gloria” during the Winnipeg show, affectionately describes his 59-year-old friend as “an angster” and “a little bit neurotic.” Also, Meat only wants to talk about the present, even though he came to fame in the past, thanks especially to his work in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. To fill in the gaps, Klein intercuts archival material and speaks with manager Allen Kovac, biographer David Dalton, wife Deborah Gillespie, and tour manager Bill Barclay. Klein estimates that Meat has performed 1977's “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” 9,800 times over the past 30 years—but doesn't seem tired of it. Despite the critical praise for his 2007 tour, Meat does become frustrated by complaints over his staging of the duet with scantily-clad vocalist Aspen Miller (Ellen Foley sang her part on the original Bat)…but finds a creative way to address the criticism that involves changing the image of the entire band. Presented in Dolby Digital, this engaging profile is recommended. Aud: P. (K. Fennessy)