With a number of new Al Jourgenson related product coming out over the course of the past few weeks— it’s no surprise that Fix: The Ministry Movie which was released last fall has seen the light of day on DVD. Most recently Ministry issued their comeback album (but did they really ever go away?) Relapse and earlier in the year we saw the debut of highly anticipated Buck Satan project, and there’s even the threat of a full blown tour in 2012.

Fix: The Ministry Movie documents director Doug Freel’s journey with Ministry on their 1996 Sphinctour. Initially Freel was going to shoot several days of footage with a single camera, but along the way Al Jourgenson encouraged Freel to follow Ministry for the entire tour. The result is a mishmash of vulgarity, drug use (heroin), drunken jibber jabber, mental break downs and very little meat to the story. Ironically the interviewees who added quantity Ministry related content to this documentary were the Warner Brothers executives! Jourgenson’s industrial rock rival Nine Inch Nail’s Trent Reznor, and Lemmy Kilmister (though we needed subtitles) were incredible in this film. Paul Barker who makes several appearances throughout this film looks to be on the verge of bolting from the chaotic mess that is a Ministry tour. Barker did in fact split shortly after this film was shot. Also making appearances Korn’s Jonathan Davis who doesn’t make one Ministry reference–he simply talks about ‘his’ sobriety and touring; a complete opposite is Amen’s Casey Chaos who is a grotesque, bloated, drunkard who mumbles at times incoherently. I suppose Chaos, Davis along with Tool’s Maynard Keenan were used as ‘star power?’ Kudos to Keenan who had quality Ministry commentary and he blasted Limp Bizkit (a highlight of this film) for their miserable existence.

If you were expecting the comprehensive story of Ministry with Fix: The Ministry Movie– think again. I wouldn’t recommend this to a diehard fan (myself included) much less someone that knows nothing of Ministry’s ‘greatness.’ Fix: The Ministry Movie will not earn Al Jourgenson any new fans. And while Al might think this film makes him look like a rebel it doesn’t. Sticking your penis into a cooked chicken carcass, then thrusting it for the better part of a minute then hoping the record label execs ‘eat’ it afterward when they pass through catering; it’s simply not cool and Jourgenson comes off as a schmuck.

Fix: The Ministry Movie as far as documentaries go falls flat. Unlike recent documentaries like; RUSH’s Beyond the Lighted Stage, Anvil’s The Story of Anvil and Lemmy the story about Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister; you don’t have an admiration for Al Jourgenson who is the subject of the film. In fact by the end of Fix: The Ministry Movie you have emotions that range from rage to disgust to pity toward Jourgenson ; he proves to be nothing more than a whiney, bitter, alcoholic/addict that doesn’t have an ounce of respect for himself, much less his fans. While Fix: The Ministry Movie is a complete bust, I did learn a few things; bassist and co-founder Paul Barker grew tired of playing banana to a lead singer with a gigantic ego, even bigger mental health issues and a Godzilla sized appetite for opiates and alcohol–so he split.