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This review was originally published January 24, 2025 out of the Sundance Film Festival.
We are republishing it now timed toSly Lives!s streaming debut on Hulu.
Like so many rock docs,Sly Lives!is both a tribute and a cautionary tale.
Itd be impossible for it not to be.
The drugs took over, and run-ins with the law increased.
That he cant articulate his anxieties is understandable.
Theres never been a Black Elvis.
And movies need not answer the questions they pose.
Sometimes, asking and letting the questions hang in the air is enough.
But here, theyve been edited together into montages that are both dynamic and revealing.
For all the sociocultural ruminations ofSly Lives!, its the shop-talk that inspires.
Honestly, it helps when musicians make movies about other musicians.
You walk out ofSly Lives!feeling like youve genuinely learned something, but you also walk out exhilarated.
