God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is an extensive piece of work that sheds light on the Prince of Darkness himself. Ozzy Osbourne is a cultural and musical icon, pioneering heavy metal with Black Sabbath in the late sixties, introducing an explosive solo career, along with a reality show and raucous tours that fans say will never be matched. The documentary puts Ozzy's success in the background, while his personal troubles, demons, and hardships are placed in the foreground.
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was born in 1948 in the working class neighborhood of Aston, Birmingham, England. As a teen, he had very few options; go to work in a factory, go to the army, or go to prison. The choice was his. He could never hold down a job and cringed at the thought of working decades in a factory. Like many teens, Ozzy formed a band with his friends, who would later get a small record deal with Warner Bros. to form the band Black Sabbath.
Like mentioned in the documentary, listening to Black Sabbath now, it sounds rather ordinary because all the tricks have been copied over and over again, but in the seventies, it was some of the hardest, roughest, and most engaging rock music ever heard. Ozzy married young and had two kids, Jessica and Louis, both who agree that he was a bad father, distant, unkind, and very, very deranged.
After his divorce, he finally married Sharon Arden, and had three children, Aimee, Jack, and Kelly who would later become the stars of the MTV reality show The Osbournes. Sharon states that living with Ozzy is a roller-coaster. He never seemed to be a fully functional father, always being away on tours, binging on alcohol and drugs (things he has had untold troubles with), not to mention just putting his musical work in front of his family.
Once he was released from Sabbath, Ozzy pursued a solo-career, one of unmatchable talent. He became the "Prince of Darkness," hosting tours that were dark, eerie, and unpredictable, and began releasing heavy metal records that were unique and stylistic.
One thing that is frequently brought up in the documentary is how insecure Ozzy truly is. He was the clown character of Black Sabbath, and Sharon states he acted that way to try and cover up his insecurities. It too seems that his erratic drug use is a response to all his regrets and missed opportunities in life. The series The Osbournes may have been funny to watch, due to it being rather all over the place, but as said by Jack Osbourne, it truly tore the family apart. Everyone began using drugs.
As of today, Ozzy is stone cold sober. He has himself together, he is working on resurrecting his solo career (his latest album Scream is a definite winner), and he is trying desperately to be the real father to his children, all of which, even Jessica and Louis, he maintains a healthy relationship with. God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, which was produced by his son Jack, is a nicely composed documentary, but I have a feeling that this is nothing eye-opening to a lot of Ozzy fans. For me, someone who thought they knew more about the man than they did, it colored things in and even took me outside the lines, but hardcore fans of the prince may find it to be obvious, repetitive, and unnecessary.
Starring: Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne, Aimee Osbourne, Jessica Osbourne, and Louis Osbourne. Directed by: Mike Fleiss and Mike Piscitelli.
