God Bless Ozzy Osbourne (2011)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Simply Perfect

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

"True Feature Doc Filmmaking is a dying art-form! That is; "To be completely and remain middle ground in your perspective of your subject matter. "In other words, to tell the whole story even if it means negative publicity! The way I see "God Bless Ozzy Osbourne" is that it had a better chance if you titled it: "God Damn Ozzy Osbourne". The A-Typical rock star sex-drugs and rock & roll abound without us really getting inside and knowing anything more about this person than what is easily found already in the media. That is sad because Ozzy narrates well and tell his side of each life-changing event. But we are left empty in the end. Its not a narrative on Drug Abuse, its not a narrative on making millions in a heavy metal band and rising to the top and it most certainly is not a narrative about the demons that can affect all of us with too much fame and fortune. That is what the Filmmaker set out to make I'm sure and totally fails at doing so. Instead we end up with a family produced video that looks like a reality TV show. I was totally disappointed but I'm still happy that Ozzy is now sober and drug-free and quite frankly looks great! Lest to say for this Film, sorry to say.

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne (2011) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Very good documentary on the life and times of Ozzy Osbourne who is certainly one of a kind. The film covers Ozzy's early days growing up poor and follows him to Black Sabbath, the fame, the drugs, the partying, the solo career and of course his comeback, which itself had many highs and lows. GOD BLESS OZZY OSBOURNE is an appropriate title because if you know anything about the madman then it's really amazing that he survived the 70s. The documentary uses behind the scenes footage mixed in with both past and present interviews as well as news footage. All of this is perfectly mixed together and in the end you really get a great idea of who Ozzy is and why he did some of the crazy stuff that he did. The majority of the running time deals with the craziness, which of course means a lot of wild pranks, drugs and alcohol. There's no question that all of these stories are used for entertainment because as sad as it might be to see a father neglect his children, the crazy lifestyle Ozzy was leading just puts a smile on your face because he survived it all. Had Ozzy died then it's doubtful these same stories would have been as amusing as they are today. We get interviews with his family, friends and fellow musicians who all tell their stories of what Ozzy means to them. At just 91-minutes the documentary goes through pretty much every stone leading up to the musicians current state.

I had seen bits and pieces of the MTV series The Osbournes, and I have been interested to see more about the past of the rock star known as the Prince of Darkness, and this documentary was a good opportunity to see that stuff. Basically this film, which uses four decades worth of stock footage, gives us an insight into the ups and downs of the life of Ozzy Osbourne, the world famous rock star who found fame in the band Black Sabbath, and solo. He started as a regular young man in Birmingham, England, and grew up to become a tearaway, and then of course he entered the music industry, and during the 1970's and 1980's he was one of the biggest names in rock. Ozzy also found happiness when his manager Sharon and he married and had three children together, Aimee (the one hardly anyone knows), Kelly and Jack, but of course his personal life was difficult when he delved into the seemingly impossible to escape world of drugs and alcohol. With his addictions becoming increasingly addictive, he found himself unable to remember his actions, and worst of all he would become dangerously violent, to the point where he was arrested for attempting to kill Sharon. Finally though, with the help of rehabilitation and his family's support, Ozzy managed to get away from the drugs and alcohol, and has been clean for years, and with a good happy life, and this documentary sees him celebrate his 60th birthday. With interviews from Ozzy himself, Sharon, Aimee, Kelly, Jack, Tommy Lee, Paul McCartney, Louis Osbourne - Ozzy's brother, Paul Osbourne - Ozzy's brother, and Ozzy's three sisters. Good!

The only other review (at the time I'm writing this) sums this movie up quite well, but I'll try to add just a little in the form of a different perspective. To start off with, I'm not an avid Ozzy fan, I have and do still enjoy several of the classics like paranoid and crazy train on occasion; so yeah I think people who aren't big fans may enjoy this movie, I sure did.The movie has a nice balance of the musical background and home/family/party/everyday life. There is a lot about the struggles Ozzy dealt with throughout his life. The drug and alcohol abuse is confronted head on, and really gives the viewer a unique insight. Ozzy truly seems to be one of a kind. I found the part about The Osborne's show particularly interesting. It made me think of the show differently. ...Trying not to give away any spoilers. I'm sure many people already knew what I didn't. The part I found interesting is the comments made about how the outside viewer may say or think that Ozzy's actions and behaviour on the show was 'cute' or 'funny', but really it was quite 'sad'.I have much more respect and empathy for Ozzy and his family after watching this. Though I admit it's not going to make me more of a fan of the music.