Las Vegas Weekly

Beautiful Losers

Courtesy of CineVegas

Pity Beautiful Losers has but a single screening at CineVegas, as the documentary following a handful of artists who congregated at New York's Alleged Gallery—and, in a “whirlpool of inspiration,” ultimately helped take graffiti, skateboarding and, above all, outsider perspective mainstream—is infinitely touching and truthful. As one artist puts it, “We were dumb, bored kids. All you had to have was a heart.”

Moments of humor, a killer soundtrack and an endless array of colors and shapes take peripheral roles to the stories of those who created and connected because they simply had no choice. In-progress and finished pieces are discussed, but the clear message is that output is secondary to the all-consuming agony of being an artist.

The film's only flaw concerns context. While the small moments speak volumes, the big picture concerning what was actually accomplished is fuzzy, and anyone going in without a vague idea of what the film is about might be unable to describe exactly who or what these people are (though perhaps the chaos purposefully reflects a life to which artists strive to bring order?). Nevertheless, you'll be hard-pressed to exit without having shed a tear of empathy, inspiration or some combination thereof.