After the Screaming Stops (2018) User Reviews

SPINAL BROS

[jade-mail · 7/10 · 28 December 2018]

I watched this doc on BBC iPlayer over Christmas - you really don't need to have previous knowledge of Bros to enjoy this. If you appreciate Spinal Tap, David Brent, Alan Partridge etc you'll love this. And it's real.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

Brent is back

[kevin c · 6/10 · 31 December 2018]

Movie night with Iris.

An unintentionally hilarious documentary on the band reunion. The 80s story is mildly interesting, but the David Brent analogies and psycho-babble are hilarious.

Spinal tap does Bros

[jasongkgreen · 7/10 · 30 December 2018]

Bros "After The Screaming Stops"

Wow just finished this. I always thought the music was rubbish and the looks silly. But you couldn't help laughing and at times feeling for the boys.

They are ridiculous and perfect in their imperfection but their humanity made it difficult at times to laugh no matter how much what they said warranted it.

Poignant mention for Terry Wogan's quote "what you gonna do when the screaming stops" which generates the title.

Some of my favourite quotes (from many).

"Rome wasn't built in a day, but we don't have time that Rome did"...

"The letters H.O.M.E. are so important because they personify the word home." Matt Goss

"I made a conscious decision because of Stevie Wonder not to be superstitious." Matt Goss

Listening to Stevie Wonder made me not be superstitious.

[torrascotia · 7/10 · 16 November 2018]

I am not a Bros fan I am a movie and music fan, I see so many 10 ratings of this documentary by Brosettes its obvious that this has been overrated, but not by much... Bros were a 80s band who had a female support much like Take That had in the 90s while Bros were an 80s band. There were three members, two brothers and another member who is missing from this documentary. The band had some success and like most of the teen bands of the time, split up and the brothers went their separate ways. One continued as a musician while the other made a name for himself as a B grade Hollywood actor. This documentary focuses on the two brothers preparation of a come back concert over 20 years after they split up. Since then its obvious that they have serious problems getting along and they have spent time apart mainly due to the brotherly hate which arises whenever they are in the same room. While this is a documentary about a band reforming its really about the relationship between the two brothers who seem to slip back into sibling rivalry and pick at each other like children, despite them now being well into their 40s. They seem at times completely unable to stop themselves slipping back into a cycle of conflict which seems to arrive out of nowhere and threatens to derail the comeback concert. Stuck in the middle of this conflict are support band members and management who have no idea where to look of how to manage the situation. At times the viewer is left feeling very uncomfortable with whats on screen due the sheer rawness of the emotions on display. This is a very warts and all documentary, little is left to the imagination and this is no vanity project. Its not all arguments however, there is humour and some of it is even on purpose. Some of the musings of the Goss brothers are simply laugh out funny and its difficult to tell their level of self awareness. It has elements of Spinal Tap except this is for real. The documentary also covers the losses the brothers have experienced and these scenes are very emotional. In all this documentary covers every emotional range and is very engaging, you neither need to know who Bros were or be a fan of their music to enjoy this. I can recommend this to most people, although their fans apparently have been re-watching this over and again. You will certainly want to watch this at least once as its one of the best documentaries of 2018.

The epitome of a mockumentary

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 30 December 2018]

There are only two reasons to watch this documentary. You are a Brosette from the 1980s or you heard that this was a real life Spinal Tap mockumentary.

It is obvious that a lot of footage here has been contrived. Matt and Luke might have fallen out several decades ago but negotiations must have taken place between the brothers for them to: a) reunite for a special series of concerts and b) to be followed by a documentary crew.

What the documentary crew captured was how unaware the two brothers are, especially Matt. My wife just burst out giggling with some of the stuff the brothers came out with.

'This area's for conversations.'

'I made a conscious decision because of Stevie Wonder. To not be superstitious.'

All of it without any irony.

Bros were the next big boy band to emerge after Wham called it a day. Their best known song was 'When Will I be Famous?' Their fame lasted for exactly 15 minutes. The band consisted of twins Matt & Luke Goss as well as Craig Logan the bass player. We see some footage of Craig but he really has been airbrushed out of Bros history.

Ironically Craig who quit the band at the height of their brief fame is the most successful one as a music executive.

Matt is a crooner who pretends to be Frank Sinatra in the lounge of a Las Vegas hotel. His audience probably consists of middle aged British Bros fans and their exasperated husbands. Luke managed to carve a niche as a straight to DVD action star.

The brothers were hoping that there is enough nostalgia out there for Bros to have a long series of nights at the O2 but the shows only lasted two nights. I guess those tickets did not fly off the shelves.

Just see the brothers when they are not arguing, going through their set list for the upcoming tour. They debate what they should leave out. Hold on you only had three hit songs!

Watch it for all the wrong reasons.

You couldn't write comedy this funny

[alexdouetfry · 6/10 · 2 January 2019]

This movie is what This Is Spinal Tap was trying to achieve but so much more. The Goss brothers unintentionally put together one of the funniest films of the last 10 years. Matt Goss' insane similes, metaphors and anecdotes are akin to Michael Scott of The Office and really must be heard to be believed. It spoke volumes about how brief and fleeting fame can forever skew a person's perspective of reality and a sense of their own importance. Ultimately Bros were huge for an incredibly small amount of time but seem to perceive themselves to have been at the level of the Beatles and their earnest belief in that makes them both comic and tragic. The battle of egos over the smallest detail in what turns out to be a not exactly sold out show at the shed that is London's O2 is akin to Christopher Guest's 1984 classic. Compelling in its madness and definitely worth a watch.

Be careful what you wish for....

[KerryWL · 10/10 · 25 October 2018]

The old adage, never work with children or animals should maybe be extended, in this instance to include family as well! Added to that the pursuit and accolade of fame and all the pressures that entails, you have yourself a very interesting documentary. What Bros lacked in musical recognition they made up for in personality which sadly, at the time, backed up by a hefty battering from the British Press, (the likes of which had probably only been experienced by Iconic figures such as Princess Diana, and we all know how that ended) lead to a 'Marmite' culture; you either loved them or hated them. At the centre of this piece are a couple of very sensitive souls trying to overcome the traumas of their pasts and reconcile long buried grievances. You only have to read the autobiographies of both Matt and Luke to know that this documentary has been kept short, sweet and to the point. There's an awful lot more that could have been covered but then we'd be reviewing a mini series! It is laugh-out-loud funny (even for a rather sceptical looking gentlemen sitting in front of me!) and I actually nearly jumped out of my seat to applaud at one point! The music has been chosen very carefully for this film and surprisingly it doesn't contain many Bros songs! I really hope people put their prejudiced ideas to one side and give this film a watch. There are always going to be haters but for me, its 10/10 (over and over again...!)

Is this real?

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 10 February 2019]

AFTER THE SCREAMING STOPS is an enjoyable and often funny documentary exploring the lives of famous brothers Luke and Matt Goss, who reached the pinnacle of fame in the 1980s with their pop group Bros. I was there, admittedly as a kid, so there's some nostalgia in watching this for me, although most of the fun comes from listening to the brothers making hilariously cheesy comments that make this feel like a mockumentary along the lines of THE OFFICE. Who knows, perhaps it is? The second half turns more serious and features soul-searching, bereavement and volatile arguments as the brothers prepare for a sell-out concert.

Car Crash With No Victims

[aliburns-560-232728 · 9/10 · 26 December 2018]

Great honesty shown by the identical twins, one apparently bald, one apparently sporting a full head of hair. They suffer from full on Gallagher and Davies syndrome. Yet their articulacy goes against the expected grain of a boyband. Great respect for allowing this to be exhibited, really wish I had gone to the O2 reunion now!

Emotional

[carolmcvicar · 26 October 2018]

As a Brosette and a MG fan I knew that I was going to enjoy this film. What I wasn't expecting though was the emotions that this film stirred in me. I was worried as everyone had said it was emotional and that they cried that I wouldn't but I cried from the start to the finish with more tears at certain parts of the film.I even cried with laughter. A real true insight to the Gossy boys lives warts and all. I can't wait for the local screening of this and the DVD which I have on pre order. Well done to everyone involved in this. Great job 👍🏻

A silly doco about a not very talented band

[bbewnylorac · 6/10 · 14 May 2019]

There is a British word starting with 'w' that best describes Luke and Matt Goss. Twin brothers with little talent, and even less intelligence, who had about one pop hit in the late 1980s, in the group Bros. This doco is unintentionally amusing as these entirely humourless, now middle aged, men bicker and pout and fuss as they prepare for a reunion concert in London. They do seem to be able to play instruments and lead singer Matt can sing and dance. Also, I liked the scenes when they arrive (separately) at the airports and middle aged women who used to idolise them relive their youth by hugging them and bringing out their scrapbooks. They do have genuine fans. But overall the brothers seem to think their talent and impact was profound and that they are rock Gods. But when you compare them with the talent of bands like Wham, Spandau Ballet, and Culture Club, it's laughable. Even Bananarama had more hits and could laugh at themselves. Not Bros. They're serious artists. Sad that they can't look back and laugh with us at the absurdity of the whole boy band experience, but they just don't get it.

Bros Dross

[nikfrankis · 1/10 · 14 April 2023]

Wow what an arrogant out of has beens. They were around when I was a kid and the lead singer frontman looks like he is on the verge all the time. Both believe they are still 'it' and their fans are grown women who where fans when they were kids.

The documentary reveals nothing more than two men who believe they are more deep and meaningful than they are. A sad reality of fame is that it dwindles and so have they.

It's unbelievable that they packed a stadium but I'm assuming it was a one night gig.

They heartfelt sentiment spouted was to boost their own ego and to be honest they don't know hardship.

When will they be famous?

[echopoint-36596 · 7/10 · 12 January 2019]

I am about the same age as the Goss brothers, and yes, I also have experience of family tensions and sibling rivalry. But these two, and their separate talents, are just too self-absorbed to get along with anyone, most of the time, it seems I remember dancing along to their tunes when I was younger, but I always thought of them as 'One Hit Wonders'. Which is why it's great to see that they have worked hard to use their individual talents and create new careers for themselves. But I can't help but feel that moving to the States has influenced their attitudes and mind-set in some ways. They are, after all, London lads and that is a huge amount of their appeal. But the Hollywood/Las Vegas superficiality and all things spiritual in a typical California style (large crystals in Matt's house) seems to have affected their outlook and approach to the things in life that really matter. I liked the flash backs and their watching them trace back their roots in London together, but their inability to compromise with one another is frustrating. In particular, Matt appears to have been affected quite a lot by the shallow, glitzy world of LA and celebrity status, much more so than Luke. At first I thought, wait a minute, if their identical twins, why is one bald and the other one not? Of course it became obvious that Matt dons a hairpiece and struts around trying to look like someone incredibly important. He looks younger than Luke. Plastic surgery perhaps? And he behaves like a petulant spoilt brat. In some scenes he comes across like a real Prima Donna and I couldn't help but think is this just simply attention seeking. All in all, the documentary is interesting, especially if you were around in the eighties and it shows how two people who biologically couldn't be closer, but are in many ways, so far apart.

Fascinating but incomplete

[edwardrevans · 7/10 · 27 December 2018]

Never a fan of them when they were in their heyday but found this an interesting fly on the wall Doc about two young lads who had it all and threw it away and in a sense now wanted it back. The incompleteness for me is two fold, o.k it's a story about two identical twins and their fractious relationship they have and still have as they are in away I guess trying to be themselves rather than a twin, it's the total lack of and end piece of why only two tour dates and what happened to Craig Logan.

A film of two halves

[michael-kerrigan-526-124974 · 7/10 · 24 December 2018]

I thought the first half of this documentary was somewhat contrived - as if the sibling rivalry was over emphasised for dramatic effect. I particularly thought that Matt was a bit of a ****. But slowly the film won me over. And so did Matt. I hated Bros when they were ruling the charts - but then I always went against the mainstream (I still do). But after seeing this film I almost (only almost) want to listen to their back catalogue. Never boring, and, later on in the film, poignant and emotional. Bros have a new fan (almost). 7 out of ten

One of the best music docs I have ever seen

[sea_chellz · 10/10 · 21 November 2018]

Raw, honest, sad and hilarious are the words to describe this film. I was never a fan of Bros, and to be honest you don't even need to know who they are to enjoy this film.

Matt Goss.....what an arrogant &@08

[dera-70388 · 6/10 · 12 November 2023]

This was interesting to watch. I've was never a fan of Bros let alone a Brosette!! But Matt Goss comes across as an arrogant bully who has such a high opinion of his own perceived talent. When he says that anger is not a good look for his brother, I'd disagree, Luke won't engage in an all out row which really gets to narcissistic bullies....and then says that he needs to be heard once.... MG has not shut up and listened to anyone except his own voice the whole time.... Luke comes across as calm, level headed and admits to anxiety about playing the O2, which makes him seem normal. The sibling rivalry runs deep with these two which comes across as a really toxic relationship and they really do seem better off away from each other.

Unexpectedly funny and moving music documentary about a band I have no investment in.

[david-meldrum · 8/10 · 22 January 2019]

A music documentary about a band you have little emotional investment in is a big ask, especially when it's tracking their comeback. But this documentary is something different; for a start, love or hate their music, Bros were (for a short time) a genuine cultural force for those of us who were becoming aware of music in the 1980s. And, as this documentary makes clear, they make for unexpectedly entertaining subjects; it's not quite clear if this is deliberate or inadvertent (I tend to the latter). But this is a film full of endlessly quotable, genuinely laugh out loud moments; if's downright funnier than most comedies. For the most part Matt and Luke are the only voices we hear; and despite the humour, there are also some moments that are clearly moving; especially when they talk about the deaths of their sister and, later, their mother. The big London comeback gig - which the film builds up to - serves as a moment of genuine cathartic release for band and viewer alike; and though I still have no affection for their music, there's a sense of deeper appreciation for the people behind the music - even as I laugh at them.

Brilliant film

[roni1_98 · 10/10 · 24 October 2018]

This film made me laugh and cry in all the right places. Well done to Matt and Luke Goss and to Fullwell73 for making a brilliant film.

Complete Children

[ladawnclarepanton · 1/10 · 31 January 2019]

Wasn't in the UK when theses two were big and never have I been so grateful. These two man boys are still children. They are both self absorbed and selfish. Matt is a bully beyond belief. Luke would be better off without him in his life. Hope they never ever make music together again.

Bros ergo sum

[i_ashworth · 8/10 · 30 January 2019]

Charming melange of Spinal Tap, David Brent and People Do Nothing which is compulsive viewing even for anyone who imagines that a Bros reunion gig is the last thing they fancy witnessing.

Destruction or the genesis of new beginnings.

[jim_skreech · 8/10 · 8 February 2019]

There's footage from their peak where the Goss twins are surrounded by 100s of screaming girls, plus the one boy. Him being quite the unexpected fan as boys, including 10 year old me, absolutely did NOT like Bros. However, as an adult, I do find myself revisiting stories from my early years that I was too young at the time to fully comprehend, and I watched 'After' wanting to know how the biggest phenomena of 1988 fell out of favour so quick.

'After' follows the Goss Bros reuniting for their first performance together since their initial split, and the doc follows the preparation for their comeback gig (at the London 02 Arena no less), interspersed with archive footage and the brothers looking back at their childhood and the peak years of their success.

Within the first 10 minutes, Matt is giving us a tour of his home, showing us, completely irony free, a commissioned painting of his bulldog with a pint of beer. There seems to be little change from their 80s selves, ludicrous with no apparant sense of self-awareness, but this is actually what makes the film a hugely entertaining watch, for the fan and non-fan. The prize quotes from the film and have been plastered all round the internet, so I don't need to repeat them here - there are some real laugh out loud moments, and I'm left thinking that the brothers are in on the joke but they won't show any cracks in their facade.

My bigger disappointment in the film was that there is little insight into their decline. They had a hugely successful first year, followed by a more muted comeback in 1989, and a barely noticed third clutch of singles and an album in 1991. There was the departure of Craig Logan (the rumour mill at the time suggested the boys kicked him out, not true), mockery and hostility from the press, competition by way of Jason Donovan and New Kids On The Block, and no especially memorable songs after 'I Owe You Nothing' and 'When Will I Be Famous'. They touch on Luke quitting, their financial troubles, and the stress of the sheer venom unleashed upon them, however, by the end of the film, I was left non the wiser as at the start - what actually happened?

As the boys arrive at the airport, they receive an enthusiastic and emotional greeting from the grown-up Brosettes, showing that 30 years later, they still mean a great deal to some of their fans. These same fans would wait all day outside the family house in Peckham for a glimpse of the twins - a major intrusion into their personal lives - but they (and their mother) took it well, happy to go outside hug fans and give autographs, whilst other stars would hide behind their bodyguards. This invites cynics like me to want the twins to deliver a knockout comeback performance, whilst the decades apart from each other in a studio has not softened their clashing personalities, and we're left wondering if the twins reunion will indeed lead to destruction or the genesis of new beginnings.

For a fan, this naturally is a must, but there is plenty of reasons for the non-fan to watch. And to imagine they nearly called themselves Caviar...

Hot Cross Goss Bros

[Lejink · 8/10 · 30 December 2018]

One of the surprisingly most talked about shows on the BBC this Christmas was this "Access all areas" documentary on the reunion tour in 2017 by the short-lived boy-band of the late 80, Bros. Of course reunion tours like this are very much in vogue as we can see with the likes of the Spice Girls, Bananarama, Spandau Ballet etc all on the road again in the recent past or future. This particular group had half a dozen or so hits here in the UK and briefly inspired fan-mania amongst their young teenage predominantly female following who called themselves Brosettes. Comprising twin brothers lead-singer Matt and drummer Luke Goss (for some reason the third member of the original band one Craig Logan doesn't get a look-in or even a mention) it's all about the brothers from first to last as we get to hear their unintentionally hilarious philosophical musings - example "Ever since I heard Stevie Wonder I've never been superstitious" - and see them rage at each other over the delayed entry of a keyboard to one of their numbers. We see this mutual sulk carried on to the next day when we see them preparing for a nationwide daytime TV promotional appearance where the only hatchet-burying that seems likely is in each other's heads.

Of course we know that sibling rivalry makes for good copy in pop music from the battling Wilson, Fogerty and Davies brothers of the 60's to the notorious Gallagher brothers of more recent memory, but the love-hate-love relationship these guys proffer is compelling stuff.

The documentary production team gives them more than enough rope to hang themselves as we see them go back to their old family house in London reminiscing about the hours of fun they had throwing a solitary dart in the air (no dartboard, mind), using their own mobile-phones for bleary, self-pitying late-night vox-pops to camera and to painfully and fractiously rehearse for the first time in 28 years in front of their doubting backing band.

They do achieve some pathos when talking about the loss of their beloved young sister and then their equally revered mother but right after that you get the two of them milking the fame moment as they wait to go on at the London O2 Arena (a host of other planned nationwide tour dates had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales, but you don't hear any mention of that) as Matt literally licks and makes up with his 11 minute younger sibling before wittering on about fifteen dual carriageways going one way and him and Luke meeting at some other single intersection.

Packed with unintentionally hilarious moments and quotes, it's little wonder people are calling it the funniest rockumentary since "Spinal Tap" only of course here it's all too real. Actually, if the boys, sorry, I should drop the boys, men want to reestablish themselves on the road at all they should drop the music and just go on as they are, a pair of bickering, vacuous, lost-in-showbiz but uproariously funny brothers, although this two would never believe the audience was laughing at them rather than with them .

Just Brilliant

[pinkpanther-35571 · 10/10 · 24 October 2018]

A roller coaster of emotions, taking me back to being 14! An amazing film, I'll watch it over and over again

Amazing stuff from a non-Bros fan.

[3_the_monkey · 10/10 · 14 January 2019]

I'm not a Bros fan but I loved this, I really appreciated them, the fact that they put their all in to everything they do, their bond, the manipulation they went through , it's powerful stuff! I expected it to be one sided but they are very equal, they're both equally right and equally wrong and that seems to be where they clash, they deserve to be happier with each other, they're brothers. I hope they do well as Bros again because they have done so well alone.