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No No: A Dockumentary

Play trailer Poster for No No: A Dockumentary Released Sep 5, 2014 1h 40m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 31 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Baseball pitcher Dock Ellis had a controversial life and career, once pitching a no-hitter while high on LSD.
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No No: A Dockumentary

No No: A Dockumentary

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Critics Consensus

While taking full advantage of its subject's colorful baseball career, No No: A Dockumentary also imparts broader, thought-provoking messages that should resonate with viewers who aren't sports fans.

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Critics Reviews

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J. R. Jones Chicago Reader What really distinguishes this... is its candid-and surprisingly flippant-treatment of widespread drug use in major league baseball. Oct 16, 2014 Full Review Ann Hornaday Washington Post Radice does an honorable if not always scintillating job of paying tribute to a great team and a player with a phenomenal slider, whose politics and personal style pushed the sport's most racially ingrained boundaries. Rated: 2/4 Sep 11, 2014 Full Review Bill Edelstein Variety While the film's sense of chronology is at times strained and its tale of redemption hardly unique, its subject is certainly one of a kind. Sep 8, 2014 Full Review David Lamble Bay Area Reporter Even the title of Jeffrey Radice's portrait of a fabulous eccentric is a tad inside baseball. Jun 8, 2020 Full Review David Harris Spectrum Culture The film comes at the right time. I wanted nothing more than to grab a hot dog and six-pack and watch the boys of summer of today continue the magical tradition of which Dock Ellis is a part. Rated: 3/5 Nov 27, 2019 Full Review Thrillist Entertainment Staff Thrillist No No: A Dockumentary explores the incident, Ellis' rebellious life, and the contextual culture of the 1960s and '70s that turned the player into a low-key folk hero. Nov 28, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Absorbing, visual document Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/21/18 Full Review Audience Member Dock Ellis was a brash, talented pitcher known most for pitching a no-hitter while on LSD, and for substance abuse problems throughout his career. This "dockumentary" tells his story, and with it's compelling with its interviews from childhood friends, teammates, and ex-wives, as well as his inspirational counseling work after he became clean. Ellis was a fascinating character. On the one hand he was a leader in speaking out against ridiculous policies, for example, fighting a suspension he received for wearing curlers in his hair with the Pirates, and then later the edict that players not drink in the hotel bar while with the Rangers. He was charismatic and outspoken to the point of being proclaimed by some as "baseball's Muhammed Ali", and got a touching letter from Jackie Robinson encouraging him despite a torrent of racist threats. On the other hand, he couldn't control his drug problems, starting with the amphetamines that were rampant in baseball at the time (some in the documentary estimate 90-95% of players), but soon spreading to almost everything else: cocaine, LSD, alcohol, heroin, etc. Ellis states that he was high for every game he ever pitched in the majors. Off the field, the incident his second wife describes when he abused her with guns for five hours is horrifying, and director Jeff Radice is at his best in including footage like this, but balancing it by showing the kind, loving, affable person Ellis was 99% of the time. Where the documentary is less successful is in including stock footage of players or cheesy animation while trying to show events from games where apparently no film exists. Inexplicably, there is also footage of the 1981 Kroc Foundation anti-drug film for kids called 'Dugout', which has little to no actual connection to Ellis and adds zero value. I would have also liked a little more content on the actual baseball, as Radice isn't all that detailed about big games in his career, apart from the no-hitter, and the time he hit the first 3 Reds players in a game on purpose. He'll take us to big events like the 1971 World Series but then not really show us all that much about Ellis's performance. Then again it's a human story, not a hardcore look at the man's career, and it was touching to see his relationship with Roberto Clemente, and how he spiraled after Clemente's tragic death. How Ellis turned himself around, gave back, and positively affected so many people's lives is also quite touching. Lastly, it's a fascinating look into baseball, race, and drugs in the 1970's. Solid film, and worth seeing. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member brilliant & compelling Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Not the best baseball movie, but has a great story to tell. Inspiring and funny, but by the end I almost feel a little bad laughing at all the drug talk, as it turns a little sour near the end. Overall, a good look at baseball in the 70s, with race relations, drugs, politics, and humour thrown in. Watched on Netflix at home, July 4, 2016. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member http://letterboxd.com/zbender/film/no-no-a-dockumentary/ Well I've pitched a no hitter drunk... on a video game that I've been playing for five years. Ok, Dock won this pissing contest. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member ''Wolf tickets - somebody's always buying and somebody's always selling.' Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
No No: A Dockumentary

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Cast & Crew

No No: A Dockumentary

No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - I Had the Acid in Me No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - I Had the Acid in Me 2:41 No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Greenies No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Greenies 3:59 No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - They Wouldn't Pitch Two Brothers Against Each Other No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - They Wouldn't Pitch Two Brothers Against Each Other 2:11 No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Dock Ellis' Activism No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Dock Ellis' Activism 2:47 No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - It Was a No-No No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - It Was a No-No 4:41 No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Hair Curlers No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Hair Curlers 3:35 No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Remembering Dock No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Remembering Dock 3:15 No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - The Pirates' All-Minority Lineup No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - The Pirates' All-Minority Lineup 3:16 No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Rehab and a Changed Man No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Rehab and a Changed Man 3:28 No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Passing On His Wisdom No No: A Dockumentary: Official Clip - Passing On His Wisdom 3:44 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Baseball pitcher Dock Ellis had a controversial life and career, once pitching a no-hitter while high on LSD.
Director
Jeff Radice
Producer
Mark Blizzard, Chris Cortez, Jeff Radice
Distributor
The Orchard
Production Co
Baseball Iconoclasts, Arts & Labor
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 5, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 4, 2015
Runtime
1h 40m
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