Personality Crisis: One Night Only (2023)
on Showtime
Dir: Martin Scorsese & David Tedeschi
Written: David Tedeschi
Starring: David Johansen
by Paul Bernardo paulieb2003@gmail.com
Intercut with a great set by David Johansen at New York’s Cafe Carlyle literally 2 months before Covid shut down Broadway, this documentary shines the light on one of the most influential New York artists in this or any other generation.
David Johansen is now 73 year old. This man has seen it all, and started it all, never got really rich and famous from it, yet still is not bitter about any of it. I consider him and Lou Reed to be the real OG’s of New York art and New York music. These guys started it all in the very early 70’s. They made the punk scene, they made the art scene, they made art galleries popular, they made crack houses popular. I mean they went through it all.
David was a founding member of the most influential New York punk band, The New York Dolls, and Lou Reed was founder of Velvet Underground. The Dolls directly influenced The Ramones, KISS, Aerosmith and many others. The Dolls talked the talked, and they walked the walked. They were gritty, unapologetic and just kicked ass on stage at The Mercer and many other gritty New York clubs. They wore mascara and sweat and feather boas and they were a damn good time that brought in a terrific punk rock era for America. The Dolls were admired by many, though they only made two studio albums. They appeared on tv shows over in England and here in America. For some reason, they never caught on and made it to mainstream, though everyone knew who they were.
The English musician Morrissey was President of their teen fan club. He adored them, and still does. His reasons for them not making it to mainstream were because they wore women’s clothes, had make up like street hookers and called themselves the feminine term, Dolls. With this look and style, what white suburban kid is going say they like them, much less say they heard of them. So to be a fan of the Dolls, in 1972, you had to be as tough as the Dolls. Not many were, but they all jammed to their tunes and saw them in concert everywhere they went.
This doc is great and very revealing and I”ll tell you why. All the interviews are done on David’s property. Either on his couch, lawn chair, garden, backyard, dining table, etc., so he is completely literally at home. And all the interviews are done by his daughter, Leah Hennessey. So you can tell she is actually interested in his past, and of course, what father doesn’t love explaining his past to his kids? Leah brings out his old notebooks, and scrapbooks, and we get the joy of seeing this family go through the past together. It really is wonderful to see. It is honest, and genuine, and Leah is not just reading off questions, she engages in conversation and David is very happy to go through everything with her.
The Cafe Carlyle set is fun. David is in a brilliant suit and in top form. Blondie’s Deborah Harry is in the audience, as is a lot of New York music icons. The set was shot on his birthday, so it feels a little more endearing. The room is small with white tablecloths and candles so it is a warm intimate setting. David talks and tells jokes in between sets and it is truly remarkable the amount of history this man has lived through.
David talks a bit about the guy who sang “Hot Hot Hot”, Buster Poindexter. Who was also the taxi cab driver in the classic Bill Murray Christmas movie “Scrooged”. Buster is his alter ego, and they cover why he was created and what his purpose was. Again, like most things, Buster was a fluke and was never meant to go mainstream. So many wonderfully honest moments from a true punk rock icon who still likes to rattle the cages when he can. This doc is very unique and special. I mean really, it is a family affair. His daughter chats with him at home, and then we get to go to his birthday party. This movie treats you like family, welcomes you with open arms and gives you a good history lesson if you pay attention.
