Hard Core Logo

It's taken five years for Bruce McDonald's 1996 Hard Core Logo--a rougher, tougher This Is Spinal Tap-like mockumentary about a Canadian punk rock band reuniting for a comeback tour--to stagger onto VHS and DVD, and rock 'n roll and/or punk fans should welcome it with open tattooed arms. The language is inventively foul, the ambiance is grossly realistic (the lead singer and lead guitarist repeatedly spit in one another's faces onstage), and the arguments and egos are suitably big (lead singer Joe Dick is happy with "hookers and taxis," while ambitious guitarist Billy Tallent yearns to be an "escorts and limos" kind of guy). Plus, Hard Core Logo sing songs like "Rock 'n Roll Is Fat and Ugly" and, in one of my favorite scenes, lambast their chronicler McDonald, who made the odd 1991 indie film Highway 61 (the band's critique goes something like this: "didn't you do that "Highway 69" thing? I'll bet that video is at Payless for 99 cents.") The non-candy-coated flip side of Almost Famous, this is a sleeper treat for the adventurous. Recommended. (R. Pitman)