Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: MEET ME IN THE BATHROOM [Sundance Film Festival 2022 - Virtual]

The NYC rock scene at the turn of the 21st Century is an interesting progression. This reporter was still traveling back and forth to NY but lived full time there for school at NYU between 1994 to 1996. Many of the rockers talk about the times changing but the Moldy Peaches say they got that feel even before 9/11. 9/11 changed the street culture in NY but the smoking ban outside the restaurants when food was being served also did that. 42nd Street in 1994 was not the bastion of gentrification it is now. That happened in the later 90s as did The Lower East Side which was a different animal in 1994. So the period "Meet Me In The Bathroom" [Midnight] explores is an interesting parable but one that is a consequence of the previous generation just as the mid 80s and end of the 80s affected the respective generation after. The influx of nouveau retro and/or "anti-folk" as it could be seen here, especially with The Strokes, shows a great prospect of the creativity that was flowing but it was also a response to the time.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of NYC after the lifting of the pandemic. But places like the music venues in the Lower East Side and the Mercury Lounge definitely had their day much like CBGBs. This reviewer went to school (maybe not the same classes) with Tunde from TV On The Radio who was also in acting school. (He starred in Justin Lin's "Better Luck Tomorrow" a bit after). Besides The Strokes though it is watching Karen O's journey in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs that is the most intriguing because of her view of the pressure, the expectation, the approach and the aftermath in the moment. Filmmakers Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern use purely archival footage (with some modern voiceover) which definitely places the viewer in the moment. However it is a montage to a Sinatra song illustrating these people, especially when the city starts to emerge from the 9/11 haze that gives a sense of timelessness and relevance. The integrating of LCD Soundsystem also provides an interesting diametric to the band society with an artists that for the most part was singular until he opened his eyes. "Meet Me In The Bathroom" is an interesting trip-tych which reveres its subjects but also resounds in the fact that they are only human. B

By Tim Wassberg