MOVIE REVIEW: CHELSEA ON THE ROCKS

The home to Patti, Courtney, and Edie gets the big screen treatment in this new doc.

While CBGB’s had a monopoly on the punk scene and Warhol’s Factory hosted the art scene, no single building had as much impact on cultural development in New York City as the Chelsea Hotel.

Janis Joplin partied there, Jasper Johns painted there, and Nancy Spungen died there.

It’s these ghosts of the past—and the questionable future of its current tenants—that’s the focus of Chelsea on the Rocks. The documentary, by Abel Ferrara, both recalls the hotel’s storied visitors, as well as ventures into the current controversy brewing.

The film’s strength is, not surprisingly, with its star power; from Ethan Hawke playing a song on an out-of-tune piano to Milos Forman bumbling around the lobby, watching as these big-names feel right at home at the Chelsea is representative of the legendary building. It’s when Chelsea on the Rocks recreates scenes that we already know so well—like Sid Vicious and Spungen (played by Jamie Burke and Bijou Phillips, respectively) arguing—that the film loses its vivacity.

Ultimately, the documentary is a story as much about its famous residents as its perilous position; with a new owner, the Chelsea Hotel runs the risk of being turned into a high-end hotel, rather than a magnet for painters, musicians, and the down-and-out. Like it’s done since it was first built in 1883, the hotel has a knack for inspiring art, and Chelsea on the Rocks just might be its final piece of work.
REBECCA WILLA DAVIS

Visit chelseaontherocks-themovie.com for more info.



This story was published on October 1, 2009.