Truth may be stranger than fiction, but fiction passed off as truth is frequently funnier. That's the lesson learned from Rob Reiner's classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, which gains much of its humor from its resemblance to truth: The more you know about heavy metal and all its cliches, the funnier the film becomes. The Band That Would Be King, on the other hand, presents the flipside to Spinal Tap: The less you know about brothers Jad and David Fair and their band Half Japanese, the funnier the 1993 film may seem. The Fairs' wonderfully naïve dedication to rock 'n' roll as a form of unfiltered, unfettered, and pretense-free expression inspired a legion of bedroom bands to make music before bothering to even master their instruments. After all, who needs skill when passion will suffice? Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig, The Band That Would Be King traces the brothers' path from their Michigan start (where they were exposed to the free-jazz-loving punks in the MC5 and The Stooges) through their early career, as they blissfully release albums some consider genius and others dismiss as unlistenable. In fact, the testimonials captured by Feuerzeig represent some of the film's highlights: Figures like writer Byron Coley claim the band's Charmed Life is better than Sgt. Pepper's or Exile On Main Street, while Penn Jillete recounts how he rescued much of the band's material from a crazed fan so he could release it himself using dirty money made on Miami Vice. Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker decries MTV, while Matador Records founder Gerard Cosloy bitterly bullshits about mainstream music. ("There's nothing inherently bad about major-label records, and as soon as a good one comes out, I will be happy to buy it.") Yet at the center of it all are the Fair brothers, seemingly oblivious to their own apparent ineptness but well aware of their small sonic revolution. Jad continues to make music (David left in 1986 to get married), sometimes as Half Japanese, sometimes not: Two years ago, the brothers collaborated with their friends in Yo La Tengo for an album titled, appropriately enough, Strange But True. While the uninitiated may not know what to make of The Band That Would Be King, they'll surely gain at least a modicum of respect for Jad and David Fair and what they mean to independent music, proving how a lot of heart can mean more than money and talent.