Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise (2008)

Actor, performer, and multi-platinum rock icon Meat Loaf reveals surprising shades of himself - and a fertile creative mind in constant flux - in this intimate and highly entertaining theatrical feature documentary that was celebrated as an official selection of the 2007 Montreal World Film Festival. The time is early 2007, one of the most stressful in Meat Loaf's career, when he is about to launch his most ambitious tour ever: an 18 month long marathon to support Bat Out Of Hell III, the final album of the legendary Bat Out Of Hell trilogy. His exhausting, and often poignant, journey takes him from rehearsals in Burbank, California through the first leg of his tour through Canada. Along the way, an unexpected media controversy erupts over the staging of one of his songs - a controversy that raises questions about his art and its ability to mature and transcend as it traverses multiple generations - bringing into focus the drive (and demons) that have fueled his over-the-top stage persona for almost 40 years. Album Description

Heartbreaking, heartwarming, and lots of fun to watch!

"Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise" chronicles the launch of Meat Loaf's 2007 world tour and follows the artist and his band for an exciting, hectic and often grueling three weeks, while providing insight into his creative process, his working relationships, and his very personality.

As the film begins, we hear "Welcome To The Show," from Bullfighter Ballet by Wings of Fire Orchestra, and we see concert footage of Meat, singing, sweating, and giving everything he's got, just as he has been doing for nearly 40 years. The sequence is evocative of a bull charging into a ring, and we learn as the film unfolds just how apt a comparison this is. Concertgoers know how much heart and soul Meat puts into his show; they know his passion and his legendary ability to make an emotional connection with an audience; but they might not know just how driven he is to make each performance top the last one, nor the physical and emotional toll this takes. With his trademark red scarf and his need to relentlessly push himself up to and beyond his own limits, Meat Loaf is both the bull and his own matador.

It's a very candid film, and in turn depicts the honesty and hands-on approach with which Meat Loaf faces problems, such as the one of reviewers fixated on the age difference between Meat and Aspen. Both in real life and in making the documentary, he tackles the situation head-on. Evading nothing, he resolutely quotes the negative lines from reviews, and in so doing reveals their trivial (and even ridiculous) nature. He not only deals with the "problem", but does so in a very creative way. Taking the song "Paradise" out of the present and sending it back to the 70's was an inspired idea, and it worked! - the reviewers came around.

In interviews, Meat Loaf himself has described this film as "real," possibly referring to the open willingness with which he shows us a little of his own personality. We see him reacting to people and situations with unrestrained spirit: sometimes with annoyance or dejection, more often with determination and humor, but always with feeling. The very personality trait that informs Meat Loaf's singing and acting, his uncanny emotional intelligence, makes for a volatile disposition. Meat is not a person who internalizes his feelings beneath a cool exterior. But the film emphasizes the devoted and tight-knit nature of the friendships and working relationships between Meat Loaf and his band, vocal coach, and others, and this comes across as not only "real," but very heartwarming.

Fans know that Meat Loaf is a private man, and will be thrilled to get such an up-close and personal glimpse of him, but others will enjoy the film also, either for the informative account of a rock band putting together a tour and dealing with problems along the way, or simply for the very humorous and candid portrait of an iconic artist with a captivatingly artistic temperament.
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-originally published on IMDb.com 21 March 2008, Kathy G. Borror
September 20, 2008

Meat on tour

This is a very real-life documentary, as it shows rather completely what being on tour means for Meat Loaf. We see in full detail the agony he goes through trying to please his fans with perfection; he drives himself to distraction in trying to attain it by giving 200% of himself at every performance, which is nearly impossible to keep up for an entire full-length tour without some vocal and/or body woes.
While definitely for his fans, this rockumentary also shows non-fans another side of touring from one who's been at it for many years. June 30, 2008

AWESOMEEEEEE

Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise


Great movie. For a Meatloaf fan, I don't think there is any more necessary item to the collection. Makes an even better gift. Meatloaf is great in this movie, and we really get a look into hig painstakingly precise preparation process. He rocks hard too in really sweet concert footage. No doubt, you gotta get this. June 2, 2008

3 and 1/2 Stars: Meat Loaf prepares, Meat Loaf tours.

First off, I give this 3 1/2 stars. They don't have a half-star option.

This is a documentary about the rehearsal stages and first several shows of a Meat Loaf tour through Canada to promote Bat Out Of Hell 3. The case is VERY misleading, as it lets you think you are going to see a full concert and even lists songs in the setlist of the concert as if you're going to see them. YOU WILL NOT SEE A WHOLE SONG. YOU WILL SEE SNIPPETS OF SONGS. The majority of the footage is Meat dealing with the various details of tour. There's quite a bit of attention paid to the Paradise On The Dashboard light controversy: the alleged indecency of him performing the number with Aspen Miller due to her perceived age. (She was 28 at the time of filming/touring.) Maybe even too much time is devoted to this. It honestly felt like this was the theme of the entire documentary.

We also see pieces of Meat's rituals before a show, and it shows the extreme level of perfection he demands from his crew, but mostly from himself. He is hardest on himself and never seems satisfied. This isn't the usual Rock Star ego trip, he continues to push himself to be better, louder, faster, and the best. He does so at a toll on his health, and we repeatedly see him pass out after shows.

I would recommend this to hardcore Meat Loaf fans, but casual fans or someone expecting to see a full or at least partial concert could easily come away disappointed. April 26, 2008

Dashboard Casts a Nostalgic Light

Actor, performer, and multi-platinum rock icon Meat Loaf reveals surprising shades of himself - and a fertile creative mind in constant flux - in this intimate and highly-entertaining theatrical feature documentary. The time is early 2007, one of the most stressful in Meat Loaf's career, when he is about to launch his most ambitious tour ever: an 18 month long marathon to support Bat Out of Hell III, the final album of the legendary "Bat" trilogy (first two albums had combined sales of over 55 million- two of the biggest selling albums of all time). His exhausting - and often poignant - journey takes him from Burbank, California through the first leg of his tour through Canada. Along the way, an unexpected media controversy erupts over the staging of one of his songs - a controversy that raises questions about his art, his age, his relevance - and brings into focus the drive (and demons) that have fueled his over-the-top stage persona for almost 40 years. MEAT LOAF: IN SEARCH OF PARADISE is a rich, first-ever portrait of an extraordinary, international icon that includes riveting performances of his biggest hits like "I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won?t Do That)", "Took the Words", "Two Out of Three", and of course "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." A feature documentary shot in HD on tour and on location in eight Canadian cities, from Victoria to Toronto.
April 14, 2008

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