Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2011)

Critic Reviews

• Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

  It's a hearty, thoughtful, smartly assembled, vaguely complete documentary about a rock band that, even by the standards of out-there musical acts, seemed out there both in the mid-1980s and even now.

• Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

  It's a movie about what it's like to almost make it in the music business, but not really, not quite. It's about coming close and watching it slip away.

• John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press

  What makes this better than the usual Behind the Music-style doc is the frankness of its subjects and the fun way the filmmakers intersperse Fat Albert-style animation to tell their story.

• J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

  Even as a hagiography, though, it's pretty interesting.

• Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

  [It] isn't the happiest movie about a band you'll ever see, but it is one of the more entertaining, and thanks to directors Lev Anderson and Christ Metzler, one of the most original.

• Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

  It seems telling just how many other musicians were willing to participate in the documentary to attest to the outfit's influence.

• Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

  A must see for Fishbone fans.

• Robert Horton, HeraldNet

  To hear the soaring craziness of Fishbone's "Sunless Saturday" is to wonder how such musical inspiration could possibly miss.

• Luke Y. Thompson, Geekweek

  It's a much more interesting story than your usual Behind the Music arc.

• Dan Lybarger, KC Active

  Anderson and Metzler collect dozens of great bits of rehearsal and performance footage as well as intimate footage between Moore and his family.

• Jon Niccum, Kansas City Star

  "Everyday Sunshine" presents a raw lesson in how artistry and success often make incompatible partners.

• Justin Strout, Orlando Weekly

  Everyday Sunshine is an uplifting entry that rises to its task rather than letting the music do all the talking.

• Scott Fayner, Boston Phoenix

  The pinnacle comes when Kendall rejoins them for an impromptu gig, stirring hope for a return to glory.

• Ron Wilkinson, Monsters and Critics

  Hold on to your hats for a heartwarming look into the private lives and public outrage of Fishbone, the critical mass that refuses to melt down.

• Mike Scott, Times-Picayune

  Gets the job done, and admirably, blending interviews, testimonials, concert footage and, interestingly, animation to build a full and engaging portrait of Fishbone.

• Chris Barsanti, Filmcritic.com

  Everyday Sunshine doesn't do the band the disservice of falling at their feet in worship, like too many recent films about legendary musicians

• Chris Foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

  The fun and energy of those performances show the promise that was lost - and the pleasure that's still in the music.

• David Noh, Film Journal International

  Terrific, deeply affecting rock documentary that captures the unlikely assemblage of a bunch of L.A. black guys playing the kind of music no one had ever really heard before.

Read all 18 critic reviews