| Director | Alex Ross Perry |
|---|---|
| Box office | $351,421 |
Described as "a semiotic experiment", the film combines elements of documentary with a spoof biopic of the band, and incorporates moments from Slanted! Enchanted! A Pavement Musical, a jukebox musical using Pavement's music. That play is about Essem, an aspiring Stephen Malkmus-like musician in a small town, who meets and falls in love with a woman named Anne, boards a train for New York City with her, is tempted by fame and glory, has an affair with another aspiring musician named Loretta, and wonders if love is worth it. The story loosely tracks the progression and themes of Pavement's works, chronologically. Director of all three projects Alex Ross Perry faces an uphill battle as he tries to wrangle the film together, including reticence on behalf of frontman Stephen Malkmus as Perry films the band’s tours, and biopic leading actor Joe Keery’s psychological descent as he, in a process which parodies Austin Butler’s Method acting process on Elvis, is left still speaking and acting like Malkmus.