Jimi: All Is By My Side is a Frustrating Mess

Before we go any further, I'm going to ask you to do something for me. Grab your headphones, turn off the lights, lie down comfortably, press play, calm your mind and close your eyes.

I couldn't wait to see this movie while it was being filmed. I'm a lifelong Jimi Hendrix fan. When I was sixteen, I dated a boy who loved him as much as I did. He had a big blond afro, his name was Alex but we called him Vanilla Hendrix. I'm completely serious. One night, "Hey Joe" came on the radio, and Alex and I decided it was a sign that we had to drive down to Renton, Washington to visit Jimi's grave. It was a sixteen-year-old's pilgrimage.

We left a note for our friend, who's house we were staying at, took her sleeping bag, and drove off in the middle of the night in his dark green 1969 Pontiac Parisienne. From where we lived, it was a three and a half hour drive.

We got there in the morning, bought flowers, and drove around until we found the cemetery. We didn't have Google Maps in the early '90s. His gravestone was just a simple plaque with a guitar on it.

We took turns sitting by it alone. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say. I felt like he was always with me. We flew through the universe together, so he already knew my thoughts. Yes, we did a lot of acid back then.

We slept by the side of the road that night, along a forested highway. I had weird dreams about dark water and woke up to a flashlight being shone in the passenger window. I pretended I was asleep, and they went away. We drove home in contemplative silence, then broke up amicably the next day. Our mission was completed.

So when I heard that someone was actually going to make a Jimi Hendrix movie, I was excited. And André 3000 was going to play him? Amazing. What more could a '90s kid want?

The movie was released in 2013, but I'd forgotten about it. I came across it by accident in 2022. Upon my first watching, I hated it. I was supremely disappointed. But I just decided to watch it again. This time, I knew what to expect, so I could watch it objectively. I wasn't just disappointed this time. I was confused and slightly angry.

André 3000 is brilliant. He did a great job mastering Jimi's mannerisms and sing-songy cadence. He can do no wrong in my eyes. I watch his hour and a half long flute video, Listening To The Sun, and love every minute of him rolling around on the floor. He's as much an icon as Jimi Hendrix is.

It's the writing and direction I have a huge problem with. They failed André, Jimi, and those of us who love them both. The editing is choppy without being artistic. There's distracting overlapping dialogue. Some scenes end abruptly, mid-sentence, with no transition. It's weird and a little jarring, but it doesn't completely ruin it. It felt like the editors were either planning to come back to those bits and forgot, or just gave up half way through. There are some really beautiful scenes where it feels authentic and shows a little bit of promise. But it's short-lived.

There's just one thing I don't understand. Why did John Ridley even make this movie?

Why would he write Jimi Hendrix as an abusive boyfriend when there is no evidence at all that he was? Kathy Etchingham, his girlfriend at the time, said, “None of these things ever happened”. She made repeated requests to be interviewed for the film. When she got no answer, she sent the filmmaker a legal letter regarding her portrayal.

She said, "They sent me a horrible letter back threatening me with legal action under their First Amendment rights to say what they like about me." In a 2014 article, she said she hadn't seen the film, but friends had told her about the domestic violence scenes, and she was considering taking legal action. She told an Australian newspaper, "If it's that bad, I've got no choice. If I don't, it'll just get repeated and repeated and it'll become the truth." She remembered Hendrix as a gentle and entertaining person.

The reason I told you my story in the beginning is because people like Jimi Hendrix matter. His music became a solace to me during my toughest times as a kid alone in the world. This isn't just some fictional character. This is a real person with a legacy. If you're not going to tell his story properly, don't bother. It's just lazy writing and short-sightedness.

John Ridley would rather dehumanize a musical icon than do a little more research and write about all the interesting things that did happen during that time in Jimi's life. As a writer, I'll never understand taking that much liberty with someone's life story. He had a chance to make something outstanding using magical realism, using science fiction, but he comes up with this drivel.

I don't trust John Ridley as a story teller. No wonder Jimi's estate, Experience Hendrix LLC, wouldn't let him use his music for the film. It's not only disrespectful to his memory, to Kathy Etchingham, and to the audience, but it's defamation of character.

I wish we could recast Three Stacks and make an actual Jimi Hendrix movie that celebrates his genius.
Maybe that's my job.