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Jon Edwards is a cocky dude. I know this because I shared a drink with him in Austin Texas’ Whisky Bar. I didn’t actually set out to share a drink with him; in fact I was having a great time chatting up some local broad and I was ‘this close’ to sealing the deal, when Edwards showed up, sweet-talked the girl, bought me a consolation drink and disappeared with her. Half an hour later she came back, sweating. What this man did to her in the meantime I’ll never know, but if my suspicions are right, maybe he’s worthy of a documentary after all.

When he’s not stealing my comfort shags, Jon Edwards considers himself a musical equal to Iggy Pop and Johnny Rotten – a man fighting the system with talent and perseverance as all around him ignore his obvious star qualities. Truth is, Edwards isn’t a bad act. He does the occasional bar gig and records when he can afford to pay for studio time, but real life comes a-calling when he has to all but quit the music game and get a real job so that he can look after his ailing mother.

Directors Bradley and La Brache come from an installation art background, and it shows in their camera-work. Jon E. Edwards Is In Love is a great looking piece of documentary film, but there’s a lack of importance regarding what’s behind the pretty pictures. It’s hard to say much negative about a film that centers on the life of its topic, because it feels like you’re criticizing the man himself.

Great documentaries have come from subjects far more obscure than Jon E. Edwards, but they found something that transcended simple subject matter. With this film, I fear that the directors didn’t get that deep, and that has made all the difference. But such issues are rife in the world of the first-time filmmaker and I’m certain what they learned will come through in their next work – a work that I’ll be looking forward to.

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originally posted: 03/20/03 05:06:10
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