Grateful Dawg

An exploration of the friendship and musical collaboration of the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia and mandolin virtuoso David Grisman comes to theaters via filmmaker Gillian Grisman (David’s daughter). Well, “exploration” may be a bit of an overstatement for a film that consists mainly of home-video footage of jam and bull sessions, concert performances, and a few interviews. But what the hell, when your subject is as interesting as this, and when the music your camera catches is this lively and toe-tapping, you don’t exactly have to be a brilliant or innovative filmmaker. Grisman (the daughter) stays out of Grisman (the father) and Garcia’s way, and captures some fine performances, especially a 1990 concert at Sweetwater in Mill Valley. Best of all, at David Grisman’s insistence, every song is presented complete and unedited.