Doc Soup with the New York Dolls

Hot Docs' Doc Soup was back again last night with New York Doll - a documentary focusing on New York Doll, Arthur "Killer" Kane, who had converted from rock star to Mormon.

The story of the New York Dolls wasn't presented as a rockumentary, but was more of an insight into Arthur Kane's dream of getting the band together one more time. Living a lonely life after his battle with drugs and alcohol, Arthur joined the Mormon Church in Los Angeles to give his life a sense of purpose. His co-workers had a hard time believing that this soft-spoken man was once a rock star who played at sell out shows and had die-hard fans all across the world.

Arthur's dream finally came true when Morrissey invited the New York Dolls to play at the 2004 Meltdown Festival, in London. Being one of three surviving band members, and the only one who wasn't involved in music anymore, he never feared getting back on stage after not having played for over 30 years. While others doubted his ability to keep up with the rest of the band, he put their fears to rest and delivered a smashing performance that will be etched into the history of rock music.

The New York Dolls were a huge influence to many rock bands in the 70's and 80's, including Blondie, The Clash and even The Ramones. Directed by Greg Whitely, this hilarious film has everything to entertain and touch the audience. It reaffirms the belief that dreams can come true and that makes life even more worth living.

The film was followed by a great Q/A session with Greg Whitely, who's behind the scenes stories have me looking forward to the DVD release. But before that happens, he announced that Odeon Films had picked it up and will be releasing it in the coming new year. Look out for it!