Screens/Reviews

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Where: Disney+
What: Movie, 99 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Rocumentary
Rating: NNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Long-time Springsteen chronicler and director Thom Zimny offers a gentle look at his favourite rock star

ROAD DIARY: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND  is more of a video scrapbook than a documentary. Long-time Springsteen chronicler and director Thom Zimny wields a very light hand in this adoring look at one of the world’s biggest and most enduring rock stars as The Boss readies to go on tour again and then heads out after a six-year hiatus.

Springsteen wrote the film himself, so don’t expect any raw or revealing moments — it’s almost an awesome infomercial for Springsteen’s tours and the man himself. It’s beautifully filmed with great shots of the band rehearsing and performing live. But songs are only offered up in snippets, and there are no revealing backstage moments, like in Peter Jackson’s recent Get Back series on The Beatles.

I was lucky enough to once sit in for an hour-long Springsteen soundcheck at Scotiabank Arena, and it was a revelation to watch him operate as demanding band leader. We only get brief snippets of this and the band members’ assurances that The Boss is the boss, but little of these intimate creative moments are on display.

Fans can’t get enough of The Boss, and they will love this film — many of them interviewed or filmed in ecstatic moments of devotion to their hero.

Tension, such as there is, only exists about whether the band will be able to get it together for this tour after the long layoff. But, c’mon, was there ever any doubt that a group renowned and revered for their live shows would ever be able to pull it off again? Nah.

We get minimal flashbacks and a few pieces of archival video and photos from early shows in Jersey but not enough to satisfy anyone looking for significant detail about The Boss’s back story or rise to fame. This is a love letter from The Boss about his fans, touring, his bandmates, past and present and himself. And if you’re a mega-fan of Springsteen, that’s enough; for others, the wait for a definitive look at The Boss continues.