A punk character study of a punk rock legend

In 1992, DeeDee Ramone sat down with director Lech Kowalski to discuss Johnny Thunders for the film Born to Lose (the last rock and roll movie). The interview takes on a life of it's own as DeeDee sitting alone in black limbo, proceeds to examine… his most poignant memories of drugs, loves and tattoos.
Hey Is Dee Dee Home, is not a biography but a punk character study of a punk rock legend. Watching a figure like DeeDee Ramone candidly explaining what was happening during the formative days of punk rock is a rare experience.  We are given the impression that this legendary figure... a guy who helped revolutionize rock and roll in the late 70's, a man whom young people from generation to generation and all across the globe have looked up to as an undying symbol of an entire lifestyle... is nothing more than an eager and energetic child.  DeeDee giggles, shrugs, and smirks his way through the film like a guilty schoolboy. From his debaucherous dealings with drugs to his rocky relationship with Johnny Thunders to stealing Joey Ramone's TV set, to living in Debby Harries apartment, DeeDee all the while exudes a certain playful innocence not prevalent in rock and roller icons.

Now, in 2002, DeeDee Ramone is dead.  This film stands as among the most honest performances of his career. A glimpse into the mind of a man slipping deeper and deeper into a reality all of his own.  Director Lech Kowalski captured something that no one else was  ever able to get out of DeeDee. Is what we witness in this film his act, or is it who he really was? Does it matter? While DeeDee's recollections might not be 100% accurate... and at times he even questions himself... they are his memories and that is what makes the film so special and important.

DeeDee's life is an imperfect balance of tragedy and comedy... the lines of which are sometimes hard to differentiate. Hey is DeeDee Home is the rock and roll equivalent of a war veteran, 20 years later, sitting in a dive bar, reminiscing about a time and place that will never happen again.  Not everyone made it out alive and the scars are permanent... in all respects.