Life is weird.
One moment I’m in the ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE watching Wes Cravens’ wonderful THE HILLS HAVE EYES... genuinely tense. The audience had a blast with it. I had fun with it. Afterwards, Mr. and Mrs. Alamo and I were talking about how cool the upcoming Quentin Tarantino fest at the Drafthouse is going to be. 30 films in 8 or 9 days... Glorius. Father Geek, Johnny Wad and I all hit the doors and enter the quite chilly air of Austin.
That’s when this mini-skirted beauty approaches us... She says to follow her. Well, the next thing I know I’m watching this lovely lady jimmy a door into the Paramount Theater, she tells us to get to our seats. While being quite interested in what was about to happen, we all discuss the concept of seeing each other naked. I decide that I don’t want to be naked in the same room with my Dad. It just doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t want to know if male pattern baldness extends into the nether regions. There are... things I don’t want to know.
Well, the curtains parted and there on screen began a movie. We looked at each other as though this was a huge disappointment. I mean Christ, what happened to the mini-skirted beauty. Johnny Wad went off in search for her. Dad and I decided to watch the movie. Wad never returned, I’m still waiting on his phonecall to see if he and the mini-skirted one... ya know...
The movie was STILL CRAZY.
I was instantly familiar with the title because I remember writing about it in the first AICN newsletter. As the memories were flooding in to my brain as to who was in it... well Stephen Rea’s name appeared and Billy Connolly’s... The rest were... well unknown to me. But then my memory is not as good as it should be.
Wow, for having ZERO anticipation for this movie, it hit me dead on. And my father really seemed to love it. Ya know how we all crack jokes about aging Rockers from the 70’s? Jokes about Keith Richards? Well this movie has a few nods in that direction but... It’s much better than that.
I’ve heard people refer to this movie as the Rock-n-Roll version of THE FULL MONTY. Well, I love THE FULL MONTY, primarily because of the friendships that I felt the characters had, but this is a bit different.
This is more about getting back together with friends that... well you went through something a long time ago with. It’s about burying the past, excepting the reality of your situation, about friends. And it’s about finding your stride and it’s most importantly about ROCK N ROLL!!!
I love the look of this movie. It’s just gorgeous. The pull back shots while the band is playing the giant gig... is stunning. God’s Lightshow playing in the heavens, the impossible crane shot, the magical mixture of lights on the stage, and the teeming mass of 200,000 rocking fans. I checked the credits and saw that THE MILL did the effects. Well, if the quality of the few shots I saw them do in this movie is any gauge.... well Ridley Scott’s GLADIATOR is in very good hands.
I loved the way they handled the music, that perfect 70’s British Rock Sound. And that’s where my question is. Is this all new music? If so... damn, great friggin job. If not.... damn, great friggin job. I really really like these songs. And I wish to hell I had em on CD cause it just rocks.
This movie works at every level it attempts. There are twists and surprises and it is simply delightful.
There is a scene with Ray (Bill Nighy) in the streets of Holland in his ‘Phantom’ outfit where a pusher approaches him that is... quite simply haunting as hell. The lighting is moody, but there seems to be a sparse amount of some sort of plant spores (or whatever I should be calling them) floating about catching the light. Mixed with the emotion of the scene... it is just fantastic.
In another scene, two characters meet atop some roof in London and the shot is... startling. I fell in love with the look of this movie, the characters and the music.
Ultimately at it’s base it is a “Let’s get the band back together” movie. And I’ve always loved that genre. It’s a different band, they have a different sound from the BLUES BROTHERS, and this movie is firmly lodged in reality, but it has a surreal air to it.
The memories of their prime are trippy and floaty and has all the right feels. The humor is dead on....
I guess what I’m trying to say is this... IT’S A FUN MOVIE. I came out with that same groovy feeling I had coming out of THE FULL MONTY, but it’s not as absurd as that movie. (I love the absurdity of that film, by the way) The real feel of this movie is just dead on.
It really seems that director Brian Gibson really gets this genre. In WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT he hit all the right notes, and here... well it may not be as ‘heavy’ as that film, but the moments of joy there... are amplified here. And no matter what he treats these characters with the respect and awe that we treat our rock idols with. By the end of the film... you believe these guys are ROCK GODS. I wanted to be at that concert and that other one too. I want to hear their albums, I want to see them when they play town. And dammit... they ain’t real. ARGH!!!
Well, I got to track down Johnny Wad, though I get the feeling he’s blown one or two....
