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'CSNY/Deja Vu'

Rating: (2 STARS)

BY RAFER GUZMÁN | rafer.guzman@newsday.com

July 25, 2008

Remember when Country Joe McDonald sang his anti-Vietnam anthem "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die-Rag" for a cheering crowd of thousands at Woodstock in 1969? These days rock's moral imperative to speak freely - and loudly and angrily - has largely been replaced by a desire to entertain and not offend. When Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines announced she was "ashamed" of George W. Bush at a 2003 concert, it was not exactly a Country Joe moment; she was crucified by conservatives and boycotted by radio stations and fans.

Undaunted, the graying rockers Crosby, Stills and Nash joined Neil Young on a 2006 tour to support Young's stridently political album "Living With War" (one song is called "Let's Impeach the President"). The tour documentary, "CSNY/Déj ... Vu," also has a clear agenda - Young directed it under the pseudonym Bernard Shakey - but it does attempt to capture the voices of those who criticize the group's stance. Most are disgusted fans: One young fellow storming out of the concert says it's wrong to criticize the government because "they're smarter than you."

The movie's potentially engaging controversy - should artists afflict or merely comfort? - is sapped by its nightly news approach. Mike Cerre, a war correspondent hired by Young to do the filming, chases too many tangents: local political races, mothers of dead soldiers, Iraqi veteran support groups. As laudable as the idealism may be, the movie sometimes feels like a self-congratulatory victory lap.

(R)

PLOT Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young launch a politically charged tour, polarizing their longtime fan base.

LENGTH 1:33

PLAYING AT Angelika Film Center, Manhattan

BOTTOM LINE Though shot in pedestrian TV news style, the film - and music - is still provocative.