My Way
directed by Dominique Mollee and Vinny Sisson
starring Rebekah Snyder-Starr and Annika Alliksoo
RSB Project and Nine22Ideas
Small towns may inspire big dreams, and with half a chord of guitar smarts, you know the rock and roll glitter of Hollywood is where you need to go. Blonde Rebeckah (Snyder-Starr) and her even blonder Estonian tambourine player (Alliksoo) road trip from Kittanning, PA to Hollywood Boulevard, L.A. Rebeckah’s got daddies money, and before she leaves she gives us a feminist lecture. Then we are off to Louisville, Nashville, Oklahoma City and other points west. The gals are competent guitarists and excellent promoters, they sell cds at every truck stop along I-40. Once in L.A., its video time but first Anna breaks up with her drummer, fiancé, and boyfriend as well as her traveling companion Annika. They make a video, befriend a few B-list musicians, and put together this film before climbing onto the mountain of broken dreams that makes up LA.
While good looks get your foot in the door, it takes some real chops, some real luck and some real connections to get anywhere useful. It’s not clear anything exciting happens post video but they have the Twitter, Facebook, and other social sites all up and comers need. What we mostly see is flood of endless MTV narcissism as the girls endlessly explain themselves, their feelings, and their dreams. Fair enough, but give us a break, most of the movie consists of either driving shots or narcissism. I get the idea the stakes were rather low as there is cash back home, and I’m never sure what Rebekah wants. It is pop stardom? YouTube video bragging rights? An alternate sexual experience in a town that doesn’t blink twice at lesbians? Does she even care?
I’ll grant Rebekah two things: she did get two videos done and she got Ron Jeremy to play a luchador in one of them. Her big song sounds suspiciously like Spit Baby’s “Cherry Muffin Time”, and I don’t think her world tour will happen this season. That leaves this a rock doc for the 20-teens set. All the rock and roll ground was broken years ago, today the Riot Grrrl formula is well past its sell by date, and while this band and this film is competent, it’s never really exciting or compelling.
