BEFORE: Some films are bricks, and some are mortar. Here's hoping last night's film was the mortar, and this is one of the bricks... I'm still at the intersection of rock stars and relationships...
Another tough, tough linking job - it's just as hard to link out of "Hard to Hold" as it was to link in. Going obscure for this one: Monique Gabrielle was also in "Amazon Women on the Moon" with Bryan Cranston (last seen in "Total Recall"). It's just GOT to get easier from here...
THE PLOT: A small town girl and a city boy meet on the Sunset Strip, while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.
AFTER: I forgot to mention yesterday that we went to the Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo/NY - which is a collection of sterotypes and interpretations about a particular time period. But it's been corrupted somehow - some people wear elf-ears, some people perform music that wasn't written until much later, and of course there are modern conveniences like ATMs and credit card machines.
I bring this up because it's sort of similar to how some people treat the 1980's - the decade has become a backdrop in front of which people like to place their stories. Now, I'm not saying that this film has people using iPhones or talking about a black president, or something obviously anachronistic like that. The question is, does this capture the FEEL of the 1980's?
Since I was there, I get to say that for the most part, it succeeds. The proper use of 80's music goes a long way - but still there are parts where it's very corny and relies on simple stereotypes to make its points. I assume that stereotypes are a great time-saver for screenwriters, but if they're too broad or over-the-top, then the film essentially becomes like a non-animated cartoon. And I think that's what we've got here.
Small town girl with dreams of being a singer? Check. City boy who wants to rock out? Check. Greedy club owner, greedier rock manager, egotistical rock star, prudish political wife, stripper with the heart of gold. Check, check, check. The pieces are all there, like a jigsaw puzzle, but it's up to you to decide if you enjoy the image that they form when they're put together. If you like "Glee" or "Les Miserables" or any Broadway musical where you don't mind people breaking into song at the drop of a hat, then please add two points to any rating below.
And I did enjoy the not-so-subtle digs at late 80's boy-bands (I know, that was really a 90's thing, but I think a couple of them started in the 80's) - what the movie really says is, 80's rock ruled, and 90's music sucked, and I can get behind that.
The down side? Corny kind of comes with the territory with this sort of thing. Actually the film starts at corny and gets super-corny by the end. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back - you've seen the a plot like this a hundred times. It's the music and the careful arrangement of such that ends up making an impact here. Me, I'm a sucker for mash-ups, so if you tell me that "I Love Rock and Roll" is going to be intercut with "Jukebox Hero" (makes sense, both songs mention jukeboxes) then I'm going to want to see exactly how they do that. Intermixing "Harden My Heart" with "Shadows of the Night" was a little less successful, but you can't beat "We're Not Gonna Take It" intertwined with "We Built This City", even if you're not crazy about the cheeziness of both songs. (How does one even BUILD a city on rock and roll? What kind of crazy zoning permit do you need for that?)
There are at least 33 notable 80's hits included here - and as we all know, the 1980's were the BEST decade for rock and pop. Go ahead, name a better music decade (I know, the 1960's, but they're a close second...). This is practically wall-to-wall music, much like the film "Across the Universe" was for Beatles songs - so at times it feels like there's just enough dialogue and/or plot to get us to the next song. Again, whether that's a good or bad thing largely depends on the attitude of the viewer.
But damn, who knew Tom Cruise could sing so well? This is like finding out that your plumber is also a 4-star chef when he's not unclogging your drains. It's a hidden talent that I don't think he's displayed in any other film. Maybe he got extensive vocal coaching, but they gave him some TOUGH harmonies, and he killed them! I mean, killed them in a good way.
I guess I favored the poppier side of rock back in the 80's, because I enjoyed bands like Journey, REO Speedwagon, and Huey Lewis & The News. I dabbled with Def Leppard, Quiet Riot and ZZ Top, but I steered clear of Poison, Whitesnake and Motley Crue. But, damn, "Can't Fight This Feeling" used to be my all-time favorite song, and it got me through some lonely times, but now I won't be able to hear it without thinking of it as connected to the love between two men. (Cannot UN-see...)
NITPICK POINT: We had CDs in the 1980's - they started selling them in 1982. Sure, maybe Tower Records was a holdout, and prominently displayed vinyl until the mid-80's, but in general people were moving away from records by 1987, when this is set. Plus, who moves to L.A. and brings their record collection with them, without having a turntable to play them on?
Also starring Tom Cruise (last seen in "Jack Reacher"), Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin (last seen in "Fun With Dick and Jane"), Russell Brand (last heard in "Hop"), Catherine Zeta-Jones (last seen in "Intolerable Cruelty"), Paul Giamatti (last seen in "Paycheck"), Malin Akerman (last seen in "Wanderlust"), Mary J. Blige, Will Forte (last seen in "The Watch"), with cameos from Constantine Maroulis, Dan Finnerty, Eli Roth (last seen in "Inglourious Basterds"), T.J. Miller (last seen in "Cloverfield"), Deborah Gibson, Sebastian Bach, Kevin Cronin.
RATING: 6 out of 10 bottles of Scotch
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