WESTSIDE VS THE WORLD REVIEW

As I’ve written about previously in this blog, I backed the kickstarted for the movie “Westside Vs the World”.  For those completely unaware, this was an independent film chronicling the history of the Westside Barbell powerlifting club.  Also for those unaware, the release of this film was mired in as much drama as anything powerlifting related could be, to include having its release date pushed back indefinitely after one of the developers of the film split from the production crew, stole all the kickstarter funds, used the money to buy drugs with intent to sell before getting arrested, resulting in the original film creator having to sue that individual to get back the kickstarter funds along with screenings of the film held in gyms all over the country in order to help replenish lost funds.  A good amount of us backing the film had pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that we’d never actually get our copies, and many disparing things were said about the film and its creators.  I myself equated it to the “Duke Nuke ‘em Forever” of powerlifting.  But then, finally, the day had arrived and I got my early release digital copy of the film.  I have sense watched it, and wanted to share an advanced screening review with you to help you decide if it’s something worth spending your $10 on (if you pre-order).

WHAT IS THE FILM ABOUT?

Pretty much just this guy

The actual “Westside vs The World” film is about the history of the Westside Barbell Powerlifting Club, which, in turn, means it’s primarily a story about Louie Simmons, as there is no Westside without Louie.  It starts off discussing Louie’s youth, his discovery of the Culver City Westside Barbell club, his journey into powerlifting and his accomplishments.  You find out that Louie was (and really, still is) a badass, and definitely earned his place in the sport.  Not much time is spent discussing the methods of Westside, but really more the stuff that most people wanna hear about: the drama.  You hear stories of some big names in the bygone era of powerlifting before youtube, where most info read about in Powerlifting USA or through stories passed on in clubs.  If you follow the sport, it’s cool to hear some indepth stories about these legends.  If you’re new to it, it’s great to get acquainted with the forefathers.  The film tracks Westside all the way to its current form, detailing its domination through the 90s and early 2000s to its relative obscurity in the raw era of powerlifting. 

This film REALLY could have been better understood to be “Louie Simmons vs the World”, because he is the key and central focus of the film here.  Other folks get interviewed, and you hear some perspective from current and former Westsiders, but Louie IS the show of this film.  However, you do get to hear a few cool things regarding the evolution of the methods, why Louie did what he did, and his thought process.

THE GOOD

- Ron Perlman is a delightful narrator, and allows the story to flow through very naturally.

- As stated above, you get to hear some cool stories about lifters from yesteryear.  I was familiar with what an accomplished lifter Matt Dimel was, but I had no idea how psychotic he was in and out of the gym.  Hearing more about Chuck V is always worthwhile too.  Many of these guys had larger than life myths about them, and getting to see behind the scenes is awesome for fans of the sport.

- Pacing is solid.  I didn’t find myself wanting to break away from the film out of boredom at any point. 

- Louie provides a fantastic role model of a total force of nature as it relates to getting and making people stronger.  The interviews completely solidify this.  As well, you get a peek at what was going on behind the scenes at Westside, and discover that the rumors were all true.  You also get some interesting perspectives as well.  For as much as Brandon Lilly talked about being a “Westside Lifter”, I never realized he only trained at the gym for a year before being kicked out.

THE BAD

- This film simply cannot live up to its own hype.  And that’s an unfortunate problem created by its production, but kickstarters have been waiting since Jan 2018 (when it was originally promised to be released).  During that time, we’ve seen the updates over e-mail, promises, rave reviews at screenings across the US, and just tons and tons of drama as the movie FINALLY was released in digital form…all for what is, by all accounts, simply a good movie.  This would readily find a solid place in Netlfix’s bin of decent documentaries on fringe sports.

- I would have enjoyed more time spent focusing on the actual methods of the gym.  How they came about, why, static they faced for introducing them, etc.  Kickstarter backers are supposed to get physical DVDs that go into how to implement the conjugate method, and I’ll review them once I get them, but still, this was primarily a dramapiece, which isn’t shocking for powerlifting.

- No subtitle option from what I can tell.  Louie only has 13 teeth and speaks in a jumble many times, and I had to go back a few times and try to hear what he was saying.  The music occasionally makes this an issue too.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

If you are an old fan of powerlifting, I’d say it’s worth the current $10 pricetag.  If you followed the sport during the WPO era, you know all these names, heard these stories, and will most likely get something out of it.  If you just joined in during the raw era, I honestly can’t imagine you’ll find much of this terribly interesting.  If you don’t know the sport at all, I’m not too sure how much appeal it will have for you.  You could spend 90 minutes doing something worse than watching this film, but I can’t imagine it will appeal to anyone but the most hardcore of powerlifting nerds.