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Review: Music biz documentary ‘Who the ... Is That Guy?’ lacks the panache of its subject

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There are plenty of documentaries about rock stars, but what about the guy who discovers the rock stars? This is the question at the center of Drew Stone’s “Who the … is That Guy?,” a film about one of the most influential men in the music business. Michael Alago started out as a teenage scenester in the 1970s, hobnobbing with rock gods from Max’s Kansas City to CBGB. After a stint booking shows at the New York venue the Ritz, Alago became an A&R exec, signing Metallica and White Zombie, and producing Nina Simone.

As a gay Puerto Rican from Brooklyn, Alago stood out in the heavy-metal scene, but when it comes to rock ’n’ roll, standing out is a badge of honor. Alago’s life story is a document of a remarkable era, from New York in the ’70s and ’80s to L.A. in the ’90s. Alago survived addiction and the AIDS crisis, rising from the ashes with incredible stories and a killer personal-snapshot collection, featuring heavyweights like Bono and Springsteen.

It’s a wild tale, and Stone lines up incredible talent to pay tribute to Alago’s life in memories and anecdotes, but they’re thrown together in a very loose structure. Rudimentary animation brings to life some of the more colorful stories but doesn’t add much to the doc. “Who the … is That Guy” shines a light on Alago’s amazing life story, but the film itself lacks the verve and style of its subject.

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‘Who the … is That Guy?’

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Playing: Arena Cinelounge Sunset, Hollywood

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