EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS

With the recent release of WEINER, TICKLED, and DEPALMA in the last few months, 2016 is turning out to be a great year for quality documentary feature films. There’s one type of “doc” that’s been absent so far, that’s the profile of an acclaimed music maker. A compassionate look at the all too brief life and career of Amy Winehouse, AMY, grabbed an Oscar at the last ceremony, winning over another terrific singer’s profile, WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE? (about the jazz great Nina). The wait for another music doc is over, but instead of another sultry singer, we’re being given a look at a rock and roll icon of the 1960’s, a man who continued to create and perform for three more decades: Frank Zappa. While many just recall him for his unique look or appearance (all that hair!), this new film takes us past the “wild man” rep and shines a light on his social and political influence along with his extensive contribution to the classical music world. We truly get to know the true talent in EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS.

Director Thorsten Schutte strictly adheres to the film’s title statement. Unlike the previously mentioned music docs, we get no testimonials from contemporaries, no “talking heads” giving insight or singing the man’s praises. Rather it is, frankly, Frank himself in interviews and news profiles taken from his nearly thirty years of renown. We don’t see any grainy silent home movie footage of him as a lad, but the story is told chronologically, instead starting with a “kinescope” (before video tape live TV shows were preserved by having a 16mm camera film a monitor). It’s 1963 and an almost teenage Frank, in a suit and tie, clean-shaven and “buzz-cut”, is a guest on the syndicated Steve Allen talk show. Frank conducts a musical composition using the studio band with himself and Steve playing (with violin bows) the spokes of bicycle wheels (despite his wisecracks, the host seems to be getting a kick out of it). From then, it’s straight into the “counter-culture”. He’s the Zappa familiar to us, the one staring wide-eyed from countless record jackets. We see bare-chested Frank toiling in his studio, in the pre-word processor days, using a razor blade (ouch!) to take out music notes and re-arrange sheet music. Then there’s the intensity of the rehearsals and the recording sessions (quite the perfectionist), Frank tuning out the outside world and diving into the sound. The press soon follows him and we see a parade of often misinformed interviewers. One of the better scribes is a fellow strangely attired in a retail security officer uniform (Paul Blart: Mall Cop/ Rock Journalist?). Luckily we get the camera angles of Zappa being quizzed, his expressive eyes hinting at his thoughts. They flicker when a question surprises him, then glaze over when hit with a tired statement he’s heard and disputed many times before.

The film will surely satisfy the hardcore Zappa fans, especially as we see him begin to push the boundaries, to break out of the rock ‘n’ roll box that the media wished to banish him. Yes, there’s a large section devoted to the making of 200 MOTELS, a precursor to MTV. And there’s lots of concert footage with his group, the Mothers of Invention, including a gig in Germany that turned into a riot. In the 70’s Frank would pop up in the most unlikely places, with daytime TV king Mike Douglas or as a “mystery” guest on the game show “What’s My Line?” (60’s kids’ show star Soupy Sales ID’s him). While many music mavens would be coasting at the twenty year mark, we see Frank enjoy his biggest hits (“Valley Girl”) while jumping into controversy as he fought the move to give music albums ratings (the Parents Music Resource Center). With his shoulder length hair sheared, we see him testify before the senate (a light exchange with one senator abruptly takes an ugly turn). There’s a spark-filled clip from the debate show “Crossfire” with Zappa calmly stating his views while a pundit spews and steams just inches away from him. Around these hot-tempered times, Zappa experiences his greatest creative triumphs (often using these new fangled “computers”). He uses his own money to hire the London Symphony Orchestra to record his compositions, a dozen or so years after the great Albert Hall cancelled his concert for being obscene. Then Zappa was hailed as a national hero in the newly liberated Czechoslovakia, even meeting with the new president, Havel. But his honors would be cut short. The final interview is with NBC as Frank describes his losing battle with prostate cancer. The glint in those wild eyes is dulled, as he admits to having more bad days than good. Those days soon ended as Frank Zappa passed away at the far too young age of 52. That’s as far as the film goes into his personal life. There are just passing references to his wives and kids (sorry Moon Unit fans). And we don’t hear about his near-fatal stage assault, nor his ground-breaking job as host AND musical guest on TV’s SNL in its golden days. But the man’s thoughts and words along with a peek into his creative progress is enough to make EAT THAT QUESTION: FRANK ZAPPA IN HIS OWN WORDS an engaging, fascinating look at a true one-of-a-kind musical madman/genius.