THE ‘DOC’ DOCTOR: Reviews of ‘Swamp Dogg,’ ‘Drop Dead City,’ ‘Marcella’
Photo: Singer-songwriter Swamp Dogg is the subject of the new documentary Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures / Provided by Force Field with permission.
The Doc Doctor is back in session for three reviews of some entertaining, engaging features that are currently playing in movie theaters across the nation.
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted, perhaps with the most literal documentary title of all time, charts the varied and amazing life of its title subject, a man who has left a great impact in the music industry, but in some ways has flown under the radar. The film, directed by Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson and David McMurry, has two main parts, each of them woven together.
There are the present-day scenes showcasing Swamp Dogg in his element, enjoying his home and backyard in the San Fernando Valley with his friends and occasional visitors. A couple of those friends are so close that they live in the house with Swamp Dogg and are sources of strength and musical support for the singer-songwriter-producer.
The other part of the documentary is an expertly chosen array of archival footage, which features Swamp Dogg throughout the years. Some of these conversations and interviews are hilarious, and more than a few are quite poignant. They show his undeniable skill as a musician and his never-turns-off sense of humor. This reviewer particularly loved his one-on-one conversation on what appears to be a public-access music show; think of Wayne’s World but a little tamer.
Swamp Dogg’s musical output is a combination of soul, funk and rock. It’s pure Swamp Dogg, almost indescribable in how it brings the energy and commands the attention. He has also been behind the scenes of the music industry, helping other artists with a variety of songs. All told, this singer-songwriter has touched hundreds, if not thousands, of lives in his illustrious career, and this documentary rightly gives him credit for a memorable life that has not slowed down much in his older years. He still records and has fun with his best friends, Guitar Shorty and Moogstar, and he still has a strong connection with his family, including a daughter who helps manage the day-to-day.
Let’s hope this documentary reignites Swamp Dogg’s career and puts his music into the eardrums of more and more listeners.
Drop Dead City
This reviewer has almost a clinical obsession with New York City in the 1970s and 1980s. This obsession doesn’t come with first-hand experience, but from the many movies that have depicted this difficult time in the Big Apple’s history. Whether it’s Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case or HBO’s The Deuce, there are numerous entertainment offerings set in this time period and this wonderfully imperfect city. One can understand the appeal for a storyteller, although the reality on the ground was likely more stressing. This was a time period when the city almost went bankrupt, when unions sometimes went on strike and garbage piled up on the streets, when Midtown Manhattan was filled with XXX theaters, when there was more than one deadly health epidemic, and when the future remained uncertain.
Drop Dead City, a new film directed by Peter Yost and Michael Rohatyn, looks specifically at the fiscal crisis of 1975, when Mayor Abraham Beame struggled to keep the city moving along without going into default. The fate of the metropolis was a big question mark, almost on a day-to-day basis, and the budget experts at the time needed to think of new methods to deal with the inadequate funds coming in and the many dollars rolling out. Do they raise taxes? Do they plead with state lawmakers in Albany, New York? Do they take their case to Washington, D.C., and the administration of President Gerald Ford?
What Drop Dead City achieves is a perfect showcase of this imperfect year in New York City’s history. Through archival footage, some of it from local news, the filmmakers are able to take viewers in 2025 and transport them back 50 years to the streets and neighborhoods of this wonderful city that was struggling mightily. Yes, there’s a lot of focus on the public officials, especially Beame, but there’s also brief testimonials shared by sanitation workers, firefighters, people on the street. To contextualize these images and historical notes, the directors include modern-day interviews with some of the movers and shakers of the time, those who knew the city and could offer a glimpse behind the curtain.
Ultimately the story being told is not one that is preserved in amber, a relic of a bygone era to appreciate and stare at as if it were a museum object. It would appear the filmmakers are interested in how past serves as prologue. In today’s world, what can the city — and really all municipalities — learn from this frightening case study? Where did the public officials go wrong? Where did they go right and learn from their mistakes? Is there a tether between 1975 and 2025? Perhaps the many messes of today’s society can be understood, if not solved, by turning back and seeing what happened decades ago.
Marcella
Marcella, a new documentary from writer-director Peter Miller, is an entertaining and touching portrait of Marcella Hazan, one of the most important food experts in American history. She brought to the United States a respect and expertise in Italian cooking, and she shared her wisdom with millions of people through her cookbooks, cooking classes and appearances on TV. This film is a love letter to Marcella, featuring interviews with her family members, including her influential husband, Victor Hazan, who became a wine expert in his own right and was Marcella’s writing partner; and their son, Giuliano Hazan, who has taken to cooking and continues the family tradition.
The film depicts scenes from throughout Marcella’s entire life, including her childhood in Emilia-Romagna, a region of northern Italy. She eventually marries Victor, and they move to New York City. In the Big Apple, she finds inspiration in the kitchen and begins teaching her Italian food lessons to paying customers who wanted to hear her tips and tricks. Her cooking sense was simple: quality ingredients, but not too many of them.
Throughout the documentary, some of Marcella’s friends and students prepare her most well-known meals, including her famed tomato sauce, which uses an onion during the cooking process, but then it’s removed before plating. There’s also a lemon chicken that appears simply divine and will get the mouth watering.
As the story unfolds, various challenges and triumphs in Marcella’s life emerge. An early accident in life caused a permanent disability to her right arm. She struggled with finding quality Italian ingredients in the United States, but she eventually persevered and helped popularize staples of the diet, such as extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Later in life, she somewhat regretted the balsamic vinegar introduction to the masses because she believed the worldwide obsession with the dark liquid had gotten out of control. She released immensely popular cookbooks and made a household name for herself on news programs, though she never had a show of her own. She smoked her entire life, with this habit eventually catching up to her in her final days.
What Marcella displays so well is what can be learned from a lived experience. Marcella’s life — from when she moved to Venice with her husband to when she semi-retired in Sarasota, Florida — was full of human experiences, scrumptious food, and quality conversations with loved ones and invited guests. She didn’t let a moment pass by without full engagement and a plateful of memories.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted (2024). Directed by Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson and David McMurry. Running time: 95 minutes. Rating: 
Drop Dead City (2024). Directed by Peter Yost and Michael Rohatyn. Running time: 109 minutes. Rating: 
Marcella (2024). Directed by Peter Miller. Running time: 97 minutes. Rating:
