It’s understandable why people find Ozzy Osbourne annoying. The stupidity of his t.v. reality shows. The feigned continual craziness of his photo shoots and public appearances. That stupid “health column” he puts out for Rolling Stone. Even that nu metal festival he put his name to. And, let’s face it, everything seems so damn trademarked, down to every grown and incoherent babble that comes out of his mouth.

But this documentary shows a different side. As producer/son Jack Osbourne puts it, this documentary differentiates the man, John Osbourne, from the Ozzy Osbourne persona. The drug-induced hijinks, the many rock star myths and even the goofy, clueless character you saw on The Osbournes reality show are all working Ozzy personae. None of those are who the man really is. Or, rather convincingly, that’s what the documentary is out to prove. In fact, the sober Ozzy is more in-tune to the real soul of the man.

The beauty of this documentary is that it goes over Ozzy’s history very well and it is treated in a sincere manner with nothing to sell or to hide. Ozzy is more than a rock star idiot fumbling for the remote. His kids bare the harsh truths. And Sharon, his wife, is seen as a heartful, down-to-earth person instead of the shrewd businesswoman and annoying celebrity she is known to be. Everything from Ozzy’s rough-and-tumble childhood to the Black Sabbath’s pink slip to the Randy Rhoads tragedy are covered (and let’s not forget the infamous beheading of the poor bat and dove!) —  all in detail within the limited space of a 135-minute documentary.

However, the best parts might go to the brief scenes or spontaneous bits. One scene has Ozzy watching his past MTV videos — hits like “Bark at the Moon” and “The Ultimate Sin.” “I hate this video,” Ozzy comments on one. “I can’t remember doing this fucking thing … cliche ’80s video … Next!” Wonderful stuff.

Many rock documentaries are viewed once and never watched again. This documentary, however, sticks with you. It’s certainly a keeper.