So much is missing from this documentary. Where is any information about the mother? The identity of the brothers is confusingly presented. Overall, a weakly constructed and researched film. It'll make a great feature film, though - just a matter of time.
shareThere is a lot missing from this doc, but I don't think it could be helped.
What's missing is the mother's voice and perspective. But remember she was also a victim of abuse, and was in no position to speak against her husband in the 1960's. It would be great to have a candid interview with her, but its simply wasn't possible. She passed in 1984. No doubt, she had a very hard life as a helpless enabler.
Also missing is any substantial information about the Cowsill children between 1970 and 2004. That's quite a long time. I think most of them were licking their wounds, trying to heal and come to terms with their father, while others were killing themselves with heroin.
In one scene, Bob says "we (children) were genetically engineered not to talk about our father's parenting".
So, then material that you point out as missing simply doesn't exist. The brothers look alike, nothing to be done about that. I consider this to be a fantastic documentary, and many people who never heard Cowsill's music are discovering it.
I'm a civilian, I'm not a trout
Even though the mother DIED in 1984, I am certain that there were plenty of people to interview on the subject. Granted, her children may not have wanted the content, for specific, personal reasons. Perhaps they harbor some anger for the situation. But, yes, the material does exist, obviously, but people don't want to discuss it. Yes, the brothers look alike, and yes, they could have clarified the situation quite easily, by better juxtaposing photos of each brother, then and "now."
The whole point of this doc appears to be about suffering, so their anguish can't be used as an excuse for missing content.
I am an avid documentary watcher, and I have seen so many excellent examples, that the weaknesses here cannot be explained away by "lack of available content."
Fair enough. I do think a lot of content is missing because things were too painful to talk about.
To be fair, Bob did interview Bud's sister, and Barbara Cowsill's two sisters to try to get more insight into Bud and Barb. Bud's sister was reluctant to say anything and died shortly thereafter. Both Barb's sisters said Bud tried to have sex with them.
Its my gut feeling that we know all we need to know about Bud and his relationships. He was a typical alcoholic, abusive SOB, who was probably abused himself. So for me, its easy to fill in the blanks.
But, I agree, some more information about what the kids did over those 34 missing years would have been nice.
This isn't a perfect piece technically, by any measure. But I don't think that was the focus or intention. This documentary works on a different level, its very empathic and relatable to its audience.
I'm a civilian, I'm not a trout
Both Barb's sisters said Bud tried to have sex with them.
Oh my gosh I just watched this and was quite disappointed, I paid the $1.99 on Amazon to watch it on the advice of my friend; she is going to get a stern cold shoulder for this!!! I want that hour and a half back of my life! This was so horribly made, all over the place and I was having to turn the sound up and down at the ballgame and the hotel when they were trying to figure out the National Anthem. It was just BAD. I have no idea what the heck was going on at all. Yes their dad was a horrible human, they didn't talk about their mother except she died at 56 and they seemed so arrogant for some reason. It was just all over the place and there was not enough glue to put it together and figure it out. I am truly disappointed.
shareI watched the documentary and thought it was just great. The stars here are Bob and Paul Cowsill, with Susan playing a good supporting role. John looks uncomfortable throughout, like he really doesn't want to be on camera. Bob is the voice of reason, and it's obvious why he was chosen to narrate the movie. Paul is more volatile and energetic, you can see it in the older Paul of today, as well as in the vintage clips of them being interviewed on shows like Mike Douglas and Barbara McNair.
Way back when, in 1968, I was 15 years old, and my baby sister was 8. She regularly bought 16 Magazine, and copies were always lying around our house. I'd read them, too, mostly for coverage of TV's Dark Shadows, my obsession at the time. I do recall a story about the Cowsills and looking at the accompanying pictures. Later that summer, my sister bought the 45 rpm single of Indian Lake and played it constantly. And I mean, constantly! It got to the point where everybody in my family had it memorized. Little did I know that someday, I'd be working with the surviving Cowsills on a huge interview project!