In 1974, the New York City music scene was shocked into consciousness by the violently new and raw sound of a band of misfits from Queens, called The Ramones. Playing in a seedy Bowery bar to a small group of fellow struggling musicians, the band struck a chord of disharmony that rocked the foundation of the mid-’70s music scene. This quartet of unlikely rock stars traveled across the country and around the world connecting with the disenfranchised everywhere, while sparking a movement that would resonate with two generations of outcasts across the globe. Although the band never reached the top of the Billboard charts, it managed to endure by maintaining a rigorous touring schedule for 22 years. —IMDb
"I Wanna Be Sedated" is the punk equivalent of "Stairway to Heaven"—great songs that have gotten way too much airplay. Fortunately, the movie is dominated by other tracks (though I would've liked to know how they felt about that song becoming their only bonafide hit). I'm not a huge fan of their music, but I was mesmerized from start to finish. They're too fascinating for EOTC not to be wildly entertaining.
In dismantling the myth of a monolithic Ramones & re-mythologizing the band, Beatles-style, as 4 icons -- nerd, hedonist, drill sergeant, & guy who knew how to do normal things such as buy groceries -- EOTC simulates the natural trajectory of casual fan to #1 fan; but it also deflates the utopian punk ideal ("Take everything bad & make it good. Celebrate it.") & makes it seem quaint. #1 fans will be too punk to mind.