Blu-ray Review: Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story

Viewers and listeners of a certain age know that Born Innocent was the title of a lurid-for-its-time 1974 TV move starring Linda Blair. Rock fanatics know that the title also refers to the 1982 debut album by pop-punk (more on that label in a moment) heroes Redd Kross.

Hawthorne, California-born brothers Steven and Jeff McDonald have led Redd Kross since 1980; their brand of rock celebrates trash culture (TV movies, the Brady Bunch, etc.) but does it in a knowing, semi-sociocultural way, delivered with roaring (and sometimes ragged) rock panache. Put another way, Redd Kross are quintessentially American in their style, approach and outlook. Certainly not household names along the lines of fellow (and now deceased) Hawthornians Brian Wilson and Emitt Rhodes, they are nonetheless one of the great rock bands. They started out as a punk band with a deep pop sensibility, but they stand far and above any other band that might earn the pop-punk label.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Albums like Neurotica (1987), Third Eye from 1990, 1993’s Phaseshifter and Show World from ‘97 showcase the McDonald brothers’ musical vision, delivered with varying amounts of polish (and always the right amount, I should note), with great playing and rock-solid writing. The band continues as a vital force; 2024’s self-titled Red Album is as great as anything they’ve done.

With all of that in mind, Redd Kross is an ideal subject for a documentary film. And as fortune would have it, we have one. Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story charts the band’s early days through today, telling the story (sans narrator, thank goodness) with wit and a clear-eyed reportorial style. The McDonald brothers are, of course, at the center of the tale, but other key figures – their parents, various members, friends like The Muffs’ Ronnie Barnett – weigh in at key moments to add dimension to the chronicle.

There’s plenty of music in the film, and director Andrew Reich’s forthright, unflinching approach doesn’t shy away from some of the more troubling elements in the band’s history. But even when the story gets a bit (okay, more than a bit) weird and unsettling, it’s a compelling one. And Redd Kross’ progression from bratty, slapdash punkers to arena-worthy (if not arena-bound) rockers seems like the most logical and inevitable path imaginable.

Highly enjoyable, engrossing, funny and scary all at once, Born Innocent is recommended both to longtime fans of the band (like this writer) as well as those who’ve heard the name but not the music and wonder what all the fuss is about.