After the news broke that Anvil! The Story of Anvil would not be nominated for Best Documentary, the outrage from the press and fans was immediate. Vanity Fair’s report on this was headlined, “What’s Up Doc?” and they also pointed out that It Might Get Loud, also got the shaft. “Lesson to be learned: the documentary committee hates music,” VF wrote.

Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood-Elsewhere wrote that Anvil was “one of ‘09’s most offbeat and emotionally engaging (one could even apply the term ‘heart-warming’) docs,” and also felt it was “so earnest and touching in a shlumpy, blue-collar, middle-American hangdog way” that it could have won. There’s now gonna be ten flicks nominated for Best Picture, forget the fact there were probably less than five good movies out this year, but Anvil couldn’t get no love?

WATCH THE PREVIEW FOR ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVILBELOW:

“ANVIL THE STORY OF ANVIL” HD Movie Trailer from MFr on Vimeo.

One of the most articulate critiques of the decision came from Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman, who painted a portrait of a Motion Picture Academy even more sadly out of touch than usual.

Gleiberman started off by saying that this year’s list of Best Documentary “fundamentally off…it’s almost perverse…the list omits far too many of the documentaries – like, nearly all of them – that were sought out by audiences and acclaimed by critics. It ignores too many of the movies that were seen, praised, and loved.”

The first movie he mentions in this story? Anvil, which “unlike 90 percent of the [movies] on the list, struck at least something of a chord in the culture….A movie like Anvil, about the middle-aged persistence and comeback of the greatest heavy metal band you’ve never heard of, will never be embraced because of its ‘importance.’

Yet as Anthony Lane pointed out in The New Yorker, “the power of the movie is that it isn’t ultimately about rock & roll – it’s about time, and what time does to all of us.”

Case in point, Anvil front-man Lips then gave an interview for LiveDaily, where in response to the question what would he want people to take away from the movie, “That it’s never too late and dreams can still come true. The only time it’s too late is when you’re six feet under the ground. Where there’s life, there’s hope. Anything can change for anybody at any time. And you can die tomorrow. Anything is possible and that’s why you have to do whatever you can while you’re here.”—David Konow

David Konow is the author of Bang Your Head, and has also contributed to Guitar World, Geek Monthly, Fangoria, and many other publications and websites.