One of the many documentaries premiering at SXSW this year is Douglas Tirola’s cocktail-centric film, Hey Bartender. The film focuses on two men trying to thrive in the world of bartending, one owns a bar that is losing its luster and is struggling to maintain the strong customer base it once had in Westport, Connecticut while another is trying to achieve his goal of being a principal bartender at the best cocktail bar in NYC. Throughout the film, other stories are weaved into theirs, explaining the history of the cocktail, the establishment of new and great cocktail bars, the cocktail renaissance that is occurring, the importance of bartenders and how passionate these people are for a craft that isn’t necessarily seen as a real profession by most people.
Hey Bartender isn’t a documentary for the masses, though, after watching it, you’d think alcohol naysayers should consider giving it a look just to understand to understand the other perspective. The film is made for those who enjoy drinking but, more importantly, enjoy the art and craftsmanship that goes into the creation of a cocktail. While the film touches on the importance of the connection between a bartender and his/her customer, this isn’t a beer drinker’s film, it’s a cocktail film and made for those looking to understand the mind of a mixologist, sages, and rock star bartenders.
The film takes us into the lives of former marine turned rock star apprentice for Employees Only, Steve Schneider and old time owner/bartender of Dunvilles Steve Carpi. Both guys are regular Joe’s with their own unique life stories that brought them to the semi-interesting crossroads that they are at in the film, namely the position of apprentice and a guy making a desperate attempt to save his business. The two stories are told sporadically throughout the 95 minute duration while other notable and influential bartenders like Dale DeGroff (“King Cocktail”), Jim Meehan (PDT), Julie Reiner (Flatiron Lounge), Dushan Zaric (Employees Only), Sasha Petraske (Milk & Honey) explain their take on bartending, the importance of figures like Dale DeGroff who revived the cocktail scene, how 
this renaissance is changing the way people drink and interact with their beverages at the bars that they go to and, most importantly, how being a bartender is like being the star of a live show, every night it’s a performance and how the ever-changing audience keeps them on their toes.
If you don’t care for cocktails or enjoy paying premium prices for drinks, Hey Bartender is a really hard film to get into. Only one of the subjects is actually entertaining to listen to because you can feel the passion radiate from him. Sure, everybody that speaks offers some piece of interesting information for those that are into the bar scene, yeah they identity some cool spots that you may not have been to but much of the information that is preached is pretty much the same and it eventually gets redundant. The only significance between the subjects is the way they each founded their bar, style and the types of drinks they make. Quality, passion, flavor, and the ingredients are what allow them all to survive, to consider this a real job, and to distinguish themselves from the masses that simply consider themselves as regular bartenders.
Overall, Hey Bartender isn’t something I’d normally seek out for my viewing pleasure as my need to constantly sip traditionally makes cocktails a bad decision for me (though they look amazing!) and thus making my care factor rather low. That being said, if you’re a bartender and looking to get into the business, it’s an informative look at what it takes to succeed in a very competitive but potentially exciting world and how the best in the business fall into the job, not necessarily seek it out.
Rating: A very niche film that’s pretty much tailored made for that specific cocktail audience (5/10)
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