The Uke Might Be Mighty, But This Film Ain't

I just watched the ‘Mighty Uke’ doc on iTunes. I have to say I’ve been looking forward to seeing it for quite awhile. Unfortunately I have to say that I was really disappointed.

I felt like it was really kind of engaging and interesting at the beginning with the history of the Uke etc. until say the last 25 mins, the whole high school band thing really brought the whole show to a screeching halt IMO.

Not that that aspect of the Uke isn’t interesting or cool or shouldn’t have been included but it could have done with some serious editing...like say down to five minutes.

I wanted to see more Jake, more innovators, more ukers from around the world...I don’t know, just more...and I wasn’t expecting it to be but i was hoping it would be a bit more...badass.

I mean, it was kind of the underlying tone of this film that the Uke should be taken more seriously and that it isn’t just the novelty it’s perceived to be by many and yet for me the high school trip to Hawaii just kind of contradicted that.

‘Hey everybody in Hawaii look! it’s a bunch of kids from Canada playing Hawaiian music! What a neat novel idea!’

At one point the film cut to a performance by Elvira Bira in Sweeden where she played a kick ass Mahalo electric flying V looking Uke during a Metal performance...cool! Was hoping for more of that too. Ah, well $5 rental whatta you gonna do?

Have you seen Rock that Uke? It's... edgier, which it sounds like you might enjoy.

I loved Mighty Uke, especially the Canadian kids.

No, I haven't seen that but I'm definitely going to, thanks

Sorry that the bit about the high school kids didn't do it for you, but I believe that that high school program was the same one that James Hill went through...So, there must be something to it.

I was disappointed when I saw "the mighty uke". Wasn't worth watching.

janeray1940 said:

Have you seen Rock that Uke? It's... edgier, which it sounds like you might enjoy.

I loved Mighty Uke, especially the Canadian kids.

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I second Rock That Uke. The Mighty Uke left me with a 'meh' feeling. Rock That Uke is quirky and amusing (IMHO). It doesn't really strive to make the uke appear more serious (the one guy is in a cow costume for the duration of his interview) but the do interesting things with the ukulele.

janeray1940 said:

Have you seen Rock that Uke? It's... edgier, which it sounds like you might enjoy.

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yep, good call Jane. Was gonna say exactly the same thing. You'll love that one rook. More avante garde kind of playing...heaps of distortion peals, punks, weird Bukowski kind of lyricists and songwriters. it's a trip...and a good one

I loved the mighty uke. We own a copy and loan it out to folks. When we were watching it at home, our teenage daughters (who at first weren't interested in watching it) gravitated to the TV room and sat and watched. Afterwards they both wanted (and have since received) ukuleles.

I think I expected to see more about ukulele history , early players , etc.

Pukulele Pete said:

I think I expected to see more about ukulele history , early players , etc.

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'The Jumping Flea" is good for that side of things Pete... (elderly sells it) it also focuses a lot on modern luthiers

I liked "Mighty Uke", hated "Rock that Uke".

I think the extra footage on the DVD made me like "The Mighty Uke" more. I don't think you get to see those features and deleted scenes on the streaming rental. I know they wanted to include IZ, but it was too expensive to get permission to play his songs. It is a problem when you are trying to do a film about a subject, and the content is restricted by fees.

I haven't seen "Rock that Uke".

–Lori

I liked the doco, but I didn't love it and I didn't buy a copy after the screening. It was average, but informative. But that could have all been down to the fact that those minutes spent watching were "in the way" of me seeing James Hill perform afterwards (the real reason I bought tickets to the screening).

I don't live anywhere close to any place that had a screening, so I ordered it unseen as soon as it was available. I LOVED it. I watch it (or parts of it) every few months. Where there things I wish they had done differently (or more of, or less of, or whatever...)? Sure. But overall, I thought it was really well done, and covered a pretty broad range of ukulelia. I also have "The Jumping Flea", and enjoyed it as well. I don't think it's as well-made as "Mighty Uke", but it's good. I haven't seen "Rock That Uke", but would like to get it someday. Where I live, I pretty much gobble up any ukulele-related info I can get my hands on!
I do agree that the Langley stuff went on a little bit too long, but I enjoyed it. It might have been better if it had been earlier in the film, I guess.
The only part of the film that I did NOT enjoy was the little short extra feature film of Victoria Vox playing her uke while driving. I love her music, but I sincerely hope I'm never bicycling down a road she's driving on. It's scary enough just with all the people texting while driving.

have to add that, like Chris, I'm a junkie for any film uke related. I think I've got a copy of every uke film ever made and I do love them all. I loved The Mighty Uke and again, like Chris, drag it out every few months...and all the others. Some other uke docos worth checking out; of which a couple have already been mentioned:

Rock That Uke
The Jumping Flea
Bill Sevesi's Dream
Under The Boardwalk

The Lowell Film Collaborative showed "The Mighty Uke" last week, and my daughter and I both enjoyed it. My favorite part was the part rook hated, the part with the Canadian teen uke orchestra. I loved that they played things like "Flight of the Bumblebee" without any trace of campiness, with just the attitude that "I'm a serious musician and this is my instrument." I love that dozens of uke players are entering adulthood with great technical ability and without the belief that there's any kind of music that just can't be played on the ukulele. I also appreciated that the movie acknowledged the role Tiny Tim had in reducing the uke to laughingstock status for 30 years.