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With a myriad of documentaries released of late including Foo Fighters and Motorhead’s Lemmy among others, another documentary on a rock star has been released. God Bless Ozzy Osbourne takes a look at the rock icon on tour (culled from two years on the road) along with an off-the-road look at his home life post-drug addiction and post-The Osbournes television reality show.
In association with Ozzy’s son Jack who pushed the documentary forward and with wife Sharon as executive producer, one might get the impression that this roughly 90-minute film is nothing more than a bio-by-numbers that has been well documented countless times. And that might be the biggest knock for the first half of the documentary. Alongside footage from Europe, Australia and Halifax, Nova Scotia which shows die-hard fans and live clips, the film doesn’t really shed much new light on Ozzy’s early life.
The biggest plus of the first hour might be some of the interviews, including clips with Black Sabbath members “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward as well as some moments with Paul McCartney who puts a different spin on things. Meanwhile the anecdotes about biting heads off small animals and his crazy antics are abundant with pictures, interview clips and other stories relayed.
Fortunately, things take a much more interesting, poignant turn in the latter half as the years covering what happened during and after the taping of the reality television show The Osbournes. Here new interviews with all of the key family members are presented with daughter Kelly offering the starkest depiction regarding Ozzy’s drinking and drug use while also going through her own addiction.
Aside from a return to his Birmingham stomping grounds as a child (and the modern day Ozzy watching and trying to remember clips of the early Ozzy), the closing moments featuring Osbourne driving around his neighborhood are also strong as it wraps up.
Sadly, some of the bonus clips should have been included in the documentary, including shots of a misty-eyed Osbourne discussing the death of Randy Rhodes and a testy exchange with the interviewer about old news and stories. A Q&A with Ozzy and Jack is also offered.
Overall God Bless Ozzy Osbourne takes a little while to warm to, but the second half is well worth the wait. Jack says he wanted people to get to know the man from the documentary. He was primarily successful.
