When We Were Beautiful (2009)

Genre: Documentary

Directed by: Phil Griffin

Cast: Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres

Running time: 75 minutes

This 2009 documentary was produced to celebrate Bon Jovi’s 25^th anniversary. As the band went on another world tour, its members took time to reflect on their history, their passions and their future.

Really, this film should have been called When I Was Beautiful, because it is all about Jon Bon Jovi. The other members get a bit of time in passing, but then it’s back to Jon and how it’s all his vision, how hard he works, how he makes all the decisions, how the band is not a democracy and so on and so forth. The guy wants to control everything and then complains about the pressure. I also call bullshit on Jon claiming that Leonard Cohen told him that his live rendition of Hallelujah is his favorite. Yeah, right…

When We Were Beautiful still offers some interesting insights into a band that has had quite an impact, but it also illustrates what is wrong with this enterprise in my opinion. I am not surprised Richie ended up leaving.

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