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Watching a Nick Broomfield documentary (
Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer,
Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam) makes one not just want to shower, but to scrub oneself raw like Meryl Streep did in
Silkwood. Going where even the tabloids fear to tread, the controversial
Kurt & Courtney could also be called
Courtney and Me. Investigating the apparent suicide of grunge icon Cobain, Broomfield runs into a formidable obstacle, namely Cobain's widow, Courtney Love. She blocked permission for him to use any of Cobain's music and ultimately got the film yanked from the Sundance Film Festival. Can't really blame her, as Broomfield follows the lead of a motley crew of conspiracy theorists, grudge-carrying former boyfriends, and estranged parents who suggest that Cobain was actually murdered at Love's behest. For those who watched bemused as Love reinvented herself as a Hollywood glamour girl, this is luridly entertaining stuff--albeit suspect. How much stock to put in S&M rocker El Duce (where does Bloomfield find these people?), who claims to have been offered money by Love to kill Cobain, and then offers to tell more if Broomfield will buy him a beer? Broomfield paints a much more sympathetic portrait of Cobain. In the film's most touching moment, an aunt plays a tape of a 2-year-old Cobain singing. "He's a prettly loud little guy," she says. These scenes will be nirvana for Cobain fans.
--Donald Liebenson
Video Description
When renegade director Nick Broomfield set out to discover more about the life of Kurt Cobain, he unearthed allegations of foul play involving Cobain's wife, actress and lead singer of Hole, Courtney Love. "Kurt & Courtney" delves into the rock star couple's past and uncovers secrets, truths and conspiracy theories that may have played into the untimely death of Kurt Cobain. Scheduled to be shown at Sundance, the film was pulled, following objections by Love's attorneys. Now, discover what all the fuss was about.
COURTNEY LOVE Cobain's widow. Lead singer of Hole. Golden Globe nominated actress. The central figure in the controversy surrounding Kurt's suicide.
KURT COBAIN Lead singer of Nirvana. Long-time heroin addict. Died of an apparent self-inflicted shotgun wound in 1994.
EL DUCE Leader of an underground punk rock group. Claims that Love offered him $50,000 to murder Kurt Cobain.
TOM GRANT Private investigator hired by Love prior to the discovery of Cobain's body. Has gone bankrupt trying to prove that Kurt's death was not a suicide.
HANK HARRISON Courtney's father. Author of two books about Kurt Cobain and his death. Lead proponent of the theory that Cobain did not commit suicide.