No No: A Dockumentary (about Dock Ellis) screening at the 2014 Montclair Film Festival
April 29th, 2014 by Mr. C
With the recent cancer rash in the mouth of Los Angeles Clipper’s owner Donald Sterling with his alleged racial comments, No No: A Dockumentary takes a more refreshing outlook and inspirational view of Major League Baseball pitcher Dock Ellis but not without his own flaws on display of course. It’s basically Dock’s story of baseball colliding with pop culture. Dock was a strong individual that was battling racial equality amongst other non-discriminating demons in his life. You can definitely classify him as an outlaw, a controversial and angry man, a black militant that wasn’t afraid to stick it to your face. Perhaps the single most thing that he was known for in his career besides that drop dead looping curveball was throwing a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres while under the influence of LSD. It wasn’t a pretty no-hitter as he walked and hit a few batters to boot but a no-hitter is a no-hitter especially when he was under the persuasion of narcotics! Apparently Ellis was under the influence of acid and/or alcohol in ALL of his Major League starts as reported by him! Amazing in a very bad way!
The film takes us on a journey of his outrageous antics mostly as a Pittsburgh Pirate like when he wore curlers in his hair at the games so that he can quickly reach for a curler and instantly get a grip for his spit balls or the time when he play-sparred with Muhammad Ali in the clubhouse! He was affectionately known as the Muhammad Ali of baseball as his boisterous voice and gift of gab would get him in hot water but would also serve as a barking message to others for standing up for what he believed in. Dock had a whole host of characters and raggamuffins as mentors in his Pittsburgh Pirate upbringing such as the legendary Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Dave Parker, Al Oliver, Steve Blass, and Manny Sanguillen. Another influence (pardon the pun but well justified in this case) of Ellis was Negro league pitcher & Pittsburgh Pirate scout – Chet Brewer who should also be talked about in the same sentence as the legendary Satchel Paige.
This documentary went on to show that Dock was a controlled type of a crazy enigmatic. He was selective in what he went ballistic on and pretty much had a method to his madness. Unfortunately the addiction of drugs and alcohol would take a toll on him. A great example of when Dock would play mental games to get the upper hand was in the 1971 All Star Game.
Vida Blue was already selected to start the All Star game for the American League and Dock Ellis was on the National League All Star lineup. The leading vote getters to get the nod to start for the National League were either Tom Seaver or Steve Carlton. Of course Dock Ellis put the word out that they would NEVER pit two african american starting pitchers against each other.and low & behold – the pressures that be would stack two african americans for the very first time against each other in the All Star game!
The film did a great job of getting the right talking head interviews from Dock’s baseball teammates as well as from his personal life. Dock himself was a great interview! One of my favorite moments in the documentary was when Ellis was reading the Jackie Robinson letter that was addressed to him. It was such a moving letter! You get a feeling that Jackie and Dock came from the same seeds in the pod! Just the thought that Dock knew that Jackie approved of his stand and praised his actions to the fullest brought tears to his eyes.
The latter part of the film would be a story of redemption for Ellis. After a career of MLB and the abuse of drugs to medicate himself to deal with failure, he was able to reform himself and actually be the healer to others with issues of drug and alcohol addiction. From a man that said he used to “out-milligram” any opponent by taking a max of 15-17 pills of dexamyl to being a soul that preaches to just believe in yourself. Dock Ellis was a rebel, an outlaw, a spirited man that created waves against society. He had the spirit of Jackie Robinson but did things completely opposite of Jackie. A more in your face, unapologetic, & kick you in the nuts mentality. In Jackie’s letter to Dock Ellis, he mentioned to him – “You might want to give up” but Dock never did.
The archival footage of the MLB games involving Dock Ellis and the cartoon work used for illustration in the documentary were visually appealing! The soundtrack to the film also matched the funky and soulful rhythm of the personalities in question. The only thing that didn’t quite flow well for me was that the scenes kept on jumping back and forth from the latter years to the early years and then back again. The storytelling and editing seemed fragmented but the subject in question definitely made the trip worth it!
No No: A Dockumentary (about Dock Ellis) screens at the 2014 Montclair Film Festival on Saturday – May 3rd 2:00pm at the Clairidge Cinema on Bloomfield Avenue
Tags: 2014 Montclair Film Festival, documentary, sports
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