BANANAZ!

FINALLY! I watched Bananaz. Don't listen to Murdoc, it's really good.
It's all your dreams answered as Damon vomits repeatedly, farts, and empties his bowels with an audience!
If there's one thing I've learned from this, it's that you can use the toilet with your friends cheering you on when you become as famous as Damon Albarn.

The film is styled in the same way as Ceri's Blur doc. Starshaped. So expect lots of quick edits and random footage.
It really is an amazingly detailed account of the genesis of Gorillaz. It's interesting to see how hard it was for Damon and Jamie to get a handle on what the band should be. Should Damon actually be 2-D, and Jamie Murdoc? In the end they detach themselves from the characters, which I think has worked out for the best.

The film seems to have two main purposes: to show the mundane and banal nature of dealing with the promotion of a band, and to show the various collaborations and performances of each record.

Damon and Jamie have an utter disdain for the music press and promotion. In the various radio and TV interviews they seem frustrated when people fail to grasp the Gorillaz concept. Behind the scenes at the VMA's they get asked "wait a minute who are you guys?" Sigh.
Jamie resorts to calling himself Jay Weasel, which doesn't help with the confusion.
He gets particularly upset at the NME, quite rightly, when they edit an interview they had with "Noodle". His exact words were along the lines of "The editor is a c**t. They're a bunch of d**kheads...being on the cover [of the NME] means f**k all...you might sell 5 extra copies to a bunch of f**king Razorlight fans" ha!

Damon seems in his element coordinating, and recording with the various collaborators. Ibrahim Ferrer has a fun time with baby Missy, Terry Hall helps Damon get a Middle Eastern flair, and Dennis Hopper has a minor freak out before the live Demon Days gigs.
One interesting roadblock occurs just before the Harlem performances of Demon Days when Damon has to explain to the choir director that the lyrics to Dirty Harry are actually pacifist. She doesn't seem convinced when she hears the album title.

Speaking of freak outs, it seems that poor Damon has to vomit before every performance...

If you thought Damon and Jamie were cool, collected guys, then this film will utterly shatter that idea...sorry, they're complete nerds... which to me is even better.
Damon has a fascination with stupid head gear; plastic bags, trucker hats, head bands, trilbys, wooly hats...if it's stupid, it's on his head.

I won't spoil the end of the film...but throughout, Damon has just one, all consuming goal: To catch a cigarette in his mouth. After six years of trying, you have to watch until the last minutes to see if he does it.

WATCH IT NOW.