The titular Dennis and Lois are a couple of music superfans from Brooklyn, NYC who've been together over 40 years without bothering to get married and are pals with bands as varied as the Ramones (whom they used to sell their merch for in the CBGB's days), The Mekons (which is their vanity plate after getting tired of their RAMONES plate being stolen constantly; no one has nicked the MEKONS plate, womp womp), Joy Division, Happy Mondays, etc., some of whom crashed at their place when first touring NYC.
They figure they've attended over 10,000 shows, but as this documentary shows, it's getting harder as they get up in years as health problems begin to impede. Testimonials from Budgie (Siouxsie & the Banshees), Peter Hook (New Order) are intercut with footage of the couple on the road following some band called The Vaccines around. Everyone loves Dennis and Lois to the point that in gratitude for them FedExing some weed to Happy Mondays in California for their recording sessions, they wrote a song entitled "Dennis and Lois" on their Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyaches album. We also see their home which is so packed with various music, comic book and movie memorabilia it's almost a hoarder situation except it's well organized and displayed.
The problem with the documentary is that while it's nice they're loved and they love music and helping musicians, director Chris Cassidy doesn't organize it all very well and omits a lot of basic details leaving many questions unanswered beginning with how the heck are they funding their lifestyle which includes two or three trips to England annually (they're very fond of Manchester, home of Oasis, Happy Mondays, The Smiths, Joy Division, etc.) and all these road trips. Lois worked as the manager of the copy room at an architectural design firm until her health got too bad, but they drive a Mercedes crossover, mention giving tenants a rent reduction for Christmas, and simply seem to be living outside their means. (I joked to the missus whether they were slinging crack to the neighborhood kids?) Unless I missed it, Dennis doesn't work and I only know (I think) his last name - Anderson - because I finally found it on a FaceSpace post. What's Lois's? /shrug emoji
Then there's the matter of when was this filmed? The end of their stint with The Vaccines coincided with her birthday and the band wishes her a happy 65th birthday. While visiting Johnny Ramone's grave in Hollywood, she mentions he was born in the same year as her, 1948, so that birthday would've been in 2013. However, there is video of them attending a show by Frank Sidebottom - an act which would be memorialized in the 2014 film Frank starring Michael Fassbender - followed by them learning of the passing of Chris Sievey, who played Frank with a large paper mache head on, which was in 2010. The documentary is dated 2018, but we're never told when events are happening.
While there should be an interesting story about a unique pair, sadly Dennis and Lois does a lackluster job telling it.
Score: 5/10. Catch it on cable/streaming.
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