The Other F Word

First-time filmmaker Andrea Blaugrund Nevins builds her sympathetic, yet fair-minded documentary around an intriguing question: what happens to punk rockers when they become parents? In an opening inter-title, she introduces The Other F Word as "a coming of middle age story," which proves to be an apt description, since she looks at both parenthood and aging. As Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion) puts it, punk "was never meant to grow up, but it did." Many of Nevins's California-based subjects, from musicians to professional skaters, grew up with absent or overbearing fathers, but found a second family through punk rock. Now they have to figure out how to raise a kid while staying true to their anti-authoritarian beliefs. Nevins has selected some particularly forthcoming subjects, like Punk Rock Dad author Jim Lindberg (Pennywise), a father of three who admits that he dyes his hair to maintain his image. Lindberg provides the narrative center, since he has a lot to offer about the history of L.A. punk, which began as a particularly violent variant of the genre (Lars Frederiksen of Rancid is the only Bay Area participant). Lindberg and Ron Reyes (Black Flag) admit that they have, out of necessity, become a part of the same system they once rejected. Nevins also speaks with reps from MySpace and Napster, as well as a few teenagers, such as Clara, the piano-playing daughter of Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers). Interspersed throughout are animated sequences and music clips that keep the pace moving right along. DVD extras include audio commentary (with Nevins, Lindberg, and Everclear's Art Alexakis), extended interviews, music videos and bonus performances, and outtakes. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)