Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words

I once tried to explain the appeal of Frank Zappa to an older brother of mine, talking at length about Zappa’s integrity, musical virtuosity, creative genius and awe-inspiring audacity. The crux of my argument was that a man so intelligent and talented could’ve done absolutely anything he wanted, and the fact that he chose to make absurdly intricate rock music with silly lyrics was possibly the most respectable thing he could’ve done with his life. My brother still doesn’t listen to Zappa. I still do.

Eat That Question is the ammunition I was lacking in that intellectual firefight. No one can make the case for Zappa better than the man himself, and German documentarian Thorsten Schütte made the wise decision to facilitate that process rather than impede it. Forgoing the voice-over narration, talking-head interviews and contextual B-roll so replete in modern documentary films, Schütte instead sifted through what must’ve been hundreds of hours of archival interview and performance footage to craft a narrative, through Zappa’s own words, of his tragically brief 30-year career.

I would consider myself a casual Zappa fan, lacking the exhaustive knowledge of his catalog that some possess. This is why, in my explanation of his work to my brother, I was excessively reductive in my descriptions of his career and contributions to society. Question admirably fills in those gaps in knowledge for the novice, presenting with equal attention Zappa’s work not only as a rock musician but as a modern composer, satirist and free-speech advocate. It’s far from a simple biographical retrospective or performance film — and it was never intended to be. What this film achieves is a perfect balance of the two, both of which are in service to the personality of the man himself. By drawing heavily on interview footage, Question paints a complex picture of a complicated man: a control freak with an authority problem who was consistently the smartest guy in the room and was a paradoxical icon of the hippie movement — famously opposed to drugs and constantly lampooning his core audience.

What makes Question so entertaining, beyond Zappa himself, is the manner in which the filmmakers pieced together his narrative without intrusion. The audience gets to see Zappa transform from a 23-year-old playing the bicycle on The Steve Allen Show to a mature artist speaking out against censorship before Congress, and then to a dying man who has accepted his fate but refuses to quit working in a Today Show interview filmed shortly before cancer claimed his life — all without any posthumous commentary. This might sound a little boring to non-fans, but this is where the filmmakers’ judicious sense of pacing saves the day. Schütte chooses interviews that showcase Zappa’s innate sense of growing frustration with vapid interviewers, and editor Willebald Wonneberger cuts performance segments with an almost preternatural sense of when they’re detracting from the narrative thread. What’s presented here is a glimpse of the man as he portrayed himself. It may not be unvarnished, but it is accurate. When Zappa states in the Today interview that he feels no desire to be remembered, one wonders if he would’ve ruled out this sort of film or not.

Eat That Question is a masterfully balanced, if not wholly unbiased, biographical documentary. The filmmakers are clearly fans and may therefore gloss over some of the more difficult aspects of Zappa’s life and personality, but that’s not particularly uncommon for any biopic, narrative or documentary that deals with any musician of note. What’s remarkable about this piece is the intimate understanding that the audience can derive from Zappa’s words, with the direct knowledge of his extreme intolerance for mediocrity and b.s. coming through in his interviews and performances. For all servant fans of Frank, this movie is a must-see. For all those familiar with Zappa only in passing, this movie is a must-see. Rated R for language, some sexual references and brief nudity

Opens Friday, Aug. 12, at Grail Moviehouse