Ben Folds Five: Spare Reels

Spare Reels invites viewers into the waning days of a 1990s band as it captures Ben Folds Five in a loose, unscripted mode. The 45 minute film weaves together raucous live performances, spontaneous on the road clips, and candid backstage moments that reveal the group's camaraderie. Intermittently, we watch the trio in the studio, shaping material for their forthcoming album The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. There's no rigid narrative here, just a free associative flow that leans on energy, humor, and quick musical ideas as they spark and collide. The result is an intimate snapshot of a touring act at a critical moment, balancing spontaneity with craft.

Directed by Jerry Bryant, John Cherry, Rich Confalone, Charlie Hill-Smith, and Scott Floyd Lochmus, Spare Reels is a 1998 documentary that mixes live sets with behind the scenes studio footage from Ben Folds Five. The filmmakers weave a non linear collage that mirrors the band's restless energy and sharp humor, letting on stage intensity mingle with casual moments and early studio experiments.

Box office information for Spare Reels is not publicly available, reflecting its niche release aimed at fans rather than a wide cinematic rollout. The film exists mostly in home video packaging and has a presence in college or independent cinema circuits and fan events.

The film offers a window into the late 90s alt rock ecosystem through Ben Folds Five's orbit. It records not just songs but the process of shaping them, the jokes, the interruptions, and the quiet moments that reveal how a piano driven pop outfit built its sound. It resonates with fans who treasure archival material from that era and view Spare Reels as a valuable time capsule.

Reception to Spare Reels is mostly from dedicated fans and collectors, rather than mainstream critics. The film foregrounds themes of collaboration and improvisation, the push and pull between live energy and studio craft, and the way a band's chemistry can shape an album before a note is released.