Suzi Q: Doc on Rocker Suzi Quatro Delivers Stars but Dodges Paradoxes

By Kim Hughes

Rating: B-

Quick: name a Suzi Quatro hit! “Stumblin’ In?” OK, great. Now name another.

Unless you’re a rock geek or grew up in 70s-era Europe or Australia, you probably can’t pass that test even though those of a certain age know exactly who Quatro is, possibly have an image of her burned into the brain (feathered hair, leather threads), and fondly recall her from TV comedy Happy Days.

Suzi Quatro today.

Therein lies one of two striking paradoxes about the career of the American-born rocker, the subject of the knock-kneed new documentary, Suzi Q. For a classic artist, Quatro didn’t write or record many classic songs. And while her place as a trailblazer is firm, it’s not completely unique even for its era. Both Janis Joplin and Grace Slick also fronted bands of men with gusto though not while simultaneously wielding an instrument as Quatro did.

Set aside those nitpicks, which the filmmakers behind Suzi Q address gingerly, and what’s left is an interesting if rote, talking head–style film about a woman for whom fame was a constant battle but whose shadow stretched longer than her slight frame, a point highlighted often (if not always convincingly) throughout Suzi Q.

A bucketful of marquee performers, from Deborah Harry and Alice Cooper to the Runaways’ Cherie Currie and Joan Jett to L7’s Donita Sparks, Tina Weymouth and actor Henry Winkler queue to offer unerringly affectionate commentary on the achievements of one Susan Kay Quatro, sun sign Gemini, from suburban Detroit who, it’s clear, was literally born to rock.

Along with two of her sisters, Quatro played in the 60s girl group the Pleasure Seekers, perfecting her singing and getting her first honest taste of what performing for a living might be like. It wasn’t long before she was noticed; by 1971 at age 21 she was living in England and working with producer Mickie Most, who had seen Quatro in another band, Cradle (featuring another Quatro sister) and who recognized her potential.

It was a tough time for Quatro. Homesick, living in a hotel, and with fame as a bass-wielding chick bandleader anything but assured, she struggled to define her image as well as her sound (glam rock was happening, for better or worse) but it’s here the film is at its best as the charisma of a snarling young Quatro comes barreling through. At that moment, anything does seem possible.

We follow Quatro through the decades as her profiles slowly rises globally though, strangely and sadly, Quatro never emerges as more than a curio in her native land. Archival footage, much of it familiar, helps tells the story while Quatro — as vibrant at 70 as it’s possible to be — offers context and comment on this tale, told chronologically and without deep analysis of the broader forces (fast-changing technology, lightning-fast trends, payola, institutionalized sexism) at work within the music industry.

While watchable, Suzi Q. didn’t leave me feeling especially enlightened, a debit for a documentary. Maybe the concept of Suzi Quatro is more appealing than the sound of Suzi Quatro. How different it might have been had Quatro been born in 1990 instead of 1950 with all the alternative options the modern world has to offer.

Suzi Q. Directed by Liam Firmager. With Suzi Quatro, Cherie Currie, KT Tunstall, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Henry Winkler, Donita Sparks, and Kathy Valentine. Available on VOD and DVD July 3.