Author: Old Mother Hubbard
“I Think We’re Alone Now” (2008) is a documentary about two stalkers of the pop singer Tiffany who are obsessed with her to a frightening degree. Jeff Deane Turner is a 50 year old with Asperger’s syndrome and Kelly McCormick is a 31 year old hermaphrodite. Both of them are very creepy and obviously mentally ill, which led some to find this documentary to be exploitive.
There are some disturbing revelations that I discovered from this documentary. One thing I didn’t know before I saw this doc is that Robert John Bardo, who murdered 21 year old actress Rebecca Schaeffer, had tried to get in to a Tiffany concert with a hand gun and was arrested not long before he murdered Schaeffer. I also came to realize that it is difficult for artists to distinguish between casual fans and dangerous, obsessed fans. At one point some casual fans are interviewed and they seem almost as dangerous as the obsessed fans. Many of the fans had grown up listening to Tiffany and the one thing they all have in common is that they all think they know her. It’s weird!
Many musical artists continue to tour well in to their old age. I’m pretty sure most of them are not doing it for the love of the music (I’m not sure what David Lee Roth is doing but it’s not music), it’s because they need the money. Most musical artists didn’t know squat about finance, royalties, publishing, record contracts, etc. and they were swindled out of all or most of their money by their managers and record companies. Lots of sad stories about musicians losing everything include Badfinger, Grand Funk Railroad and many more. Former bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience Noel Redding died without a nickel in his pocket. Robby Krieger, former guitarist for The Doors, has to play small clubs to put food on the table because The Doors’ manager took all the money. I doubt the old women in the band Heart are coming out in wheelchairs after a cancer diagnosis to sing “Barracuda” and “Magic Man” because they want to. Rod Stewart and Lionel Ritchie need to keep making the payments on those mansions in Malibu, even if it means collapsing on stage with oxygen tanks at the ready. Most of these musicians are either financially unstable or broke and need to keep touring to make ends meet. Unfortunately most, if not all of them, have dangerous lifelong stalkers that follow them around wherever they go.
“I Think We’re Alone Now” really shows the dark side of fame. Do I feel sorry for smug arrogant musicians that are being stalked by mentally deranged fans? Nah.