The Go-Go’s New Showtime Documentary Looks At Their Punk Rock Roots

Anyone who hears the words “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed” and wants to head out on the dance floor will want to tune in to “The Go-Go’s”, a new Showtime documentary focusing on the all-female punk-pop band that ruled the radio airwaves back in the 1980s.

The documentary is directed by Alison Ellwood, whose two-part Hulu rock doc “Laurel Canyon” recently aired.

“The band granted full access for this textured biography featuring candid interviews and archival footage to tell the real story of their meteoric rise to fame and the journeys, triumphs, laughter and struggles along the way.”

“We lived it and we survived it,” the band said in a statement. “Now, looking back on our history through this film, we get to relive our journey as a band: the fun, the adventure, the highs and the lows. We hope this documentary will show the world that we were pioneers, and how our experience paved the way for many other female (and some male!) musicians.”

Added Ellwood: “While their musical hooks are perfect for a summer release, if you listen to their lyrics, you discover a grittiness and sophistication that serves as subterfuge beneath a seemingly effervescent surface,” Ellwood said. “The summer of 2020 will certainly be different for most of us. It’s fantastic that the Showtime audience will get a chance to see our film and experience the Go-Go’s in a new and meaningful way.”

Speaking to Variety ahead of the release, the group revealed that the first half of the film focuses on the group before stardom on the punk rock scene in L.A.

“I think are the most interesting years, and also the most unknown years for our band,” Wiedlin said.

Caffey added, “It’s like our little thing: you can take the girl out of the punk, but you can’t take the punk out of the girl. Because we are all still those people that we were back then.”

The ladies also spoke about highlighting feminism when it was still a “dirty word.”

“I would say feminism then was the equivalent of how people use the word ‘socialism’ today — like, ‘Oh my God! It’s the boogy-monster.’ People would ask if we were feminists and we would routinely say, “No, we’re not feminists.” Of course we were. We were not manipulated or controlled by men. Just because we couldn’t use the word didn’t mean that we weren’t feminists. … It’s really hard for people of today to grasp that times were so different then — although to be honest, things haven’t really changed that much in some ways,” Wiedlin said.

“The Go-Go’s” debuts on July 31.