This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Drugs. Money. Guns. Prison. Fad diets. And more marriages than a Las Vegas showgirl.
Roots-rock rebel Steve Earle has had one helluva life. And he deserves one helluva great documentary. Sadly, Just An American Boy isn’t it. But then, it isn’t trying to be. Shot by videographer Amos Poe — who prefers to call his fly-on-the-wall film a “portrait” — Just An American Boy follows the pugnacious troubadour around as he deals with the fallout from his controversial American-Taliban lament John Walker’s Blues. Along the way, you get plenty of great footage of Earle in concert, both solo and with his trusty band The Dukes. But for all his access, Poe never gets close enough to the reality of the American singer-songwriter. Still, until the definitive biopic — or at least the definitive Behind the Music episode — comes along, this will have to do.
