Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Raetsonwe Redundant and unnecessary.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Murder Slim This documentary tells the story of Roky Erickson, formally the lead singer of 60s' psychedelic rock band "13th Floor Elevators" and the 70s' "Roky Erickson and the Aliens". It quickly establishes a modern day, shambling, overweight Roky. He now stays in a three room apartment, listening to many ear-splitting sounds at once - a TV playing cartoons, a radio playing feedback, an electronic organ playing a test tune, and more. Roky settles into this, pulls down his shades and falls asleep. His mother says: "It's only when I turn them off that he wakes up". YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME explores what's going on in Erickson's head that he so desperately needs to silence.Erickson did a lot of drugs in the 60s'... before and after 13th Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me" was a big hit. LSD, straight acid, weed, the usual suspects. He became known to the local police, and was eventually arrested for having a "matchbox sized" amount of cannabis. His lawyer, wanting to keep Erickson out of prison, pleaded insanity... tentatively calling him schizophrenic. Not a good move. Erickson was shifted off to the nearby insane asylum... one that recently had severe riots. In one incident, the inmates strapped one of the doctors to a table and said "Let's shock him 'til he s***s" in an attempt to recreate what they'd had to endure. As Erickson arrives, few doctors want to practice there and the inmates are the craziest of the crazy. Erickson is there for almost five years, writing music, getting Etc treatments, and eventually forming a band with child molesters, incestual rapists, and family killers. Two of the band were all three of those.Erickson shuts off his brain to survive, but is eventually freed after a lawyer wonders why a guy locked up for marijuana and schizophrenia has been banged up with violent criminals. But, of course, the Roky that is released is even more messed up. He thinks he's a space alien, with evil voices constantly talking to him. In an attempt to help him, one friend gets him to sign a document ("with a gold seal to make it look serious") where he professes to the world that he's an alien. He figures this is the only way the voices will stop pestering him. The voices need to accept Roky is one of their own.What's fascinating about YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME is that it continues from there. All that exposition I've just given is only a small part of the story. Everything could have easily been presented as another tale of a 60s' musician driven loopy by too many drugs. But it isn't. Erickson is cared for by his slightly batty mother, who's the only person he's willing to see. She doesn't want him taking schizophrenic meds... while one of his brothers - a renowned tuba player - wants to "save" Roky.The documentary doesn't offer any concrete answers and it's refreshing for that. The mother is blighted by religion and borderline insanity, while Erickson's brother is in serious therapy and at one stage weeps in the arms of his therapist. Yet at various stages both are sympathetic. Even Roky is sometimes an irritation as well as being someone you feel desperately sorry for. It was also good to see a documentary without a voice-over, the power of which is evident when Roky's father leaves the brother's house for the walk home... just see where he ends up, folks.YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME blows some of the few remaining myths about the joys of excessive drug use, but also explodes myths on therapy and recovery. It reminded me of CRUMB in that the stories of the people around the protagonist are as interesting - if not more so - than the focus of the documentary. Although a few people I had heard of (the Angry Samoans' Mike and Butthole Surfers' Gibby) turn up in the documentary, the full story of Erickson had completely passed me by. It was certainly a lucky accident to come across YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME. Unlike some of the drug literature I've read, I'm very glad I checked this out. It's insightful, and highly recommended. And, hell, the final scene even brings a good ol' tear to the eye.

druid333-2 In late 1965/early 1966,a band from Austin,Texas,named The 13th Floor Elevators exploded out of the garage & made a name for themselves in that era of rock & roll. The Elevators were said to coin the phrase, "Psychedelic Rock". One of the band members was Roger Keynard Erikson,coined "Roky" by his friends & fans. Roky,in the spirit of the times,experimented with various drugs (Marijuana,LSD,Heroin,etc.). After an arrest (that was obviously set up by the Texas feds)for possessing less than an ounce of Marijuana,his lawyer sought out an insanity plea & spent four years in a state psychiatric hospital,where he was diagnosed schizophrenic,emerged four years later & returned to music,but with a much darker edge,until he retired from music in 1987 and became a recluse. This well documented film manages to shed light on a troubled soul that was yanked from the limelight way too soon. Candid interviews with several of those who either knew him closely (his brothers & mother),as well as celebrities,such as fellow Texans, Billy Gibbons (Z.Z.Top),Gibby Haynes (The Butthole Surfers),Byron Coley (former editor of Forced Exposure),and a bevy of others. And then of course,the music (rare early film clips of The 13th Floor Elevators on American Bandstand,playing the film's title song,'You're Gonna Miss Me,as well as other performance footage,including the last time he was seen in public at a concert where he stood there,doing nothing,and if that wasn't enough,some rarely seen home movie footage of Roky,and the rest of his family). A sad,but insightful film. Not rated by the MPAA,this film serves up a few rude words,as well as spoken testimony of the horrors of Roky's four nightmare years in a mental institution,and descriptions of some of the more sordid aspects of the 1960's hippie counter culture (drugs,sexual experimentation,etc.)

Jamesthejiveturkey Roky Erickson and his band, the 13th Floor Elevators were a 60's rock band that seemed on the cusp of great success. They achieved a small amount of fame and this was greatly due to the power of Roky Erickson's voice. (It's very easy to believe that Janis Joplin was greatly influenced by Erickson as the film contends.) As with many other bands of the era, the group experimented heavily with psychedelic drugs. When Roky combined rampant drug use along with a preexisting mental illness he began behaving much more erratically, and slowly began fading away from society."You're Gonna Miss Me.." attempts to fill in what has happened to Roky in the twenty or so years since he disappeared from the public eye as well as show his current status. As it turns out, Erickson has been living in Austin under the care of his mother who has made him virtually unavailable to any other members of his family or doctors to help him with his illness. Indeed, one of the first times we see Roky today he is enraptured with a Mr. Potato Head doll. A huge rift has developed within his family, as it appears that Erickson's mother is also in dire need of some psychiatry as well. The creators of "You're Gonna Miss Me" have certainly chosen an interesting subject, and generally present it well. They did a fine job of capturing Roky, his living conditions, and his relationship with his mother. They also managed to locate more than enough footage throughout the years to document Roky's unraveling.Despite the compelling material, there are a number of problems with the documentary. First, there is only passing attention paid to Erickson's father, brothers, or son. There was obviously much that had happened over the years between the family and Roky's mother that was not discussed during the documentary. I felt that those people had a lot to do with the story, but I was never allowed to really get to know them. There was even a remark made in passing during the film that Roky's father may have molested one or more of his sons, but for whatever reason the filmmakers chose not to investigate this further. The ending of the documentary left me wanting as well. There was a long period of time that Roky was in therapy and was taking medicine that the audience does not get to see. We jump from Roky being almost completely out of it to somewhat coherent months later. It would have been fascinating to see Erickson slowly reemerge. Although we get to see Roky pick up the guitar the guitar again, he clearly had a long way to go, and I'm sure the movie would have played better if the filmmakers had continued following Erickson for a while longer. Luckily the DVD bonus materials help achieve that sense of closure the film lacks.The 13th Floor Elevators still have many fans today (some of them famous musician tons in their own right), and Erickson's fall into the depths of mental illness is an interesting and tragic one. The viewer can't help but feel that if the right actions had been taken at any number of critical times in Erickson's life that he might have avoided a large number of his problems.

robmarchant After seeing the movie, I still felt I didn't know the Roky Erickson story. Surprisingly little music. Too much focus on Roky's mom. She was unusual but not interesting enough to carry the movie. The obvious comparison is to the Daniel Johnston documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" - that is the better movie. The decline into schizophrenia is more visible. Note that I am a BIG Roky fan and only a marginal Daniel Johnston fan.Despite the review, if the movie is showing along with a performance of Roky Erickson and the Explosives - GO SEE IT! It is very interesting to compare the real Roky with the documentary Roky. Also the backing band ROCKS!!