SID & NANCY

Drugs are bad. But Nancy Spungen shrilly screaming in your ear, "Siiiiiiiiid!!!!!" is worse.

The 1986 punk-rock biopic Sid & Nancy is just about as iconic as a counter-culture cult film as the Sex Pistols were to punk rock itself. It is certainly beloved by many fans, and was treated to a Criterion Edition DVD (alas, the Blu-Ray release is not the Criterion version, so has different, lesser extras). Gary Oldman's portrayal of the Sex Pistol's doomed bass player Sid Vicious introduced him to a much wider audience and launched him (rightly so) as a critical darling. The role of Sid's girlfriend Nancy Spungen (despite Chloe Webb's excellent performance), got its own footnote in pop culture history when it became widely known (years later) that Courtney Love campaigned for the part (Courtney did end up with a minor role in the film).

Sid and Nancy are a punk rock Romeo and Juliet. You know they are doomed from the start as the film begins with Sid being questioned by police over Nancy's murder. Did he do it? Was it a robbery? Was it a botched suicide pact? The film then flashes back to sunnier, happier times as Sid and Nancy first meet cute, with him banging his head on a brick wall with sympathy over her hookup taking all her drug money. Aw. Somehow, shameless American groupie Nancy and simple, not-particularly-talented punk rock star Sid are actually a pretty sweet couple—kindred spirits whose affection for each other is almost as strong as their affection for heroin. There is a great scene where the couple visits Nancy's suburban family, and are quickly dis-invited from staying overnight. As they sit in a crappy hotel, smoking and drinking, waiting for their ride out the next day, you actually sense their disappointment and confusion as to why they were rejected.

Their story spirals quickly as the Sex Pistols self implode after an ill-advised short U.S. tour through the South, and Sid and Nancy end up in their own nightmare of drugs and seclusion in the Chelsea Hotel in New York City. As obnoxious as they are (especially constantly shrieking Nancy), you never get the sense that they are bad kids... just severely misguided and unable to climb out of the hellhole they have dug for themselves.

But as bleak and depressing as their end is, the ride getting there is surprisingly entertaining. The film is often as hilarious as it is wince-inducing, and is totally worth seeing not only for the excellent lead performances by Oldman and Webb, but for its portrayal of the burgeoning punk scene. Rock and roll will never die, expect, you know, when it does die (which seems to happen a lot, if you think about it). Luckily for the rest of us, at least the music and the myth live on.

BLU-RAY NOTES

Especially when competing with a Criterion Edition DVD, this so-called "Collector's Edition" Blu-Ray release didn't even seem to try. There are two featurettes, "For the Love of Punk" and "Junk Love", about the sex, drugs, and rock n' roll of the Sex Pistols, and of the film itself. The extras carefully only show scenes from the movie, and very little of the actual Sid and Nancy. Also, Alex Cox, Gary Oldman, and Chloe Webb are nowhere to be seen in the extras. The only other morsel is a Theatrical Trailer (single handclap). Curiously, I had sound issues with the Blu-Ray. There is an excellent chance that my speaker system wasn't set up correctly, or simply isn't good enough, but this is the first time I've had trouble hearing the dialogue over the sound mix.