BEFORE: I had probably a few dozen roads out of "Jay Kelly", if not a hundred. So why this one? Sure, it's going to bring me via an actress who's not in a lot of films, to a film I know nothing about, but also a film with very FEW links to other movies. But one of those links is to a big blockbuster franchise film that came out last year, and that film feels kind of good to schedule on a century mark, a film number ending in 00. That's all, I can discard all the other paths out of "Jay Kelly" because I'm just looking at this one, and this one gets me to Movie #5,300 and also all the way to Mother's Day, via the Burnt Toast codicil. Today's movie could be a real stinker and I wouldn't care, because I'm looking down the road with big things to come.
Eleanor Matsuura carries over from "Jay Kelly".
THE PLOT: Vince, a desperate former popstar who dreams of making a comeback has an impromptu jam session with autistic young drummer Stevie that sparks an unexpected friendship between the two misunderstood musicians.
AFTER: OK, so I've seen a few films about street musicians over the years, and today's film isn't exactly as good as "Sing Street" or "Once", but you know, that's OK, it doesn't have to be. It can just be what it is, which is a film about a former boy-band member who's now unemployed and looking to get back into the game. Look, I can sympathize, I was part of the indie animation scene in NYC for over 30 years, and now that I'm out, it's really tempting to try and find a way back in. I mean, I've got knowledge that I picked up over the years, and I've got experience, so part of me still wants to put all of that to use for someone else. But then there's a more rational part that says, "Nah, you've done that, you can do something different now, if you go back you're only going to have those same stresses all over again." So that's my plan, I'm doing something different, I'm working at a movie theater and I'm working at a stadium concession stand, and while there's stress in both places, it's a different kind of stress, and so far, so good.
It's OK, I can be semi-retired from show business, I did so many of the things that I wanted to do, and a few things that I didn't even KNOW I wanted to do. I was interviewed for a documentary about George Lucas, I got my a cappella group to perform on a movie soundtrack, I got my name in the credits of a "Simpsons" episode and I met "Weird" Al Yankovic before a concert. I produced the only animated feature to qualify as a SAG low-budget project, I got another animated feature into the Dramatic Competition at Sundance, and I jumped through all the hoops to get one short film all the way to an Oscar nomination. Plus I ran a clean and legal operation for 30 years and only appeared before a judge ONCE (at the Department of Labor). I ran or co-ran FIVE successful Kickstarter campaigns and sold $11,000 of animation art to a French museum. Even if I'm done in that industry, that's a long and varied list of accomplishments. 30 years prior, I didn't know I could do all that - I didn't even know those were possible things to do.
Anyway, perhaps Vincent Denham, or "Vinnie D" went through something similar as a member of Stereo Dream. He's got his memories, but he's also got regrets, most noticeably the loss of his brother, and the fact that he was on tour with the boy band when his brother died. Of course, when he starts playing music on the street and a young drummer joins in, when they develop a connection it's easy to see that Vinnie is looking to replace his brother in some way. The similarities are not subtle, Vinnie's brother Ted had some kind of learning disability, and the drummer, Stevie, is autistic. But Stevie is also very talented, so in addition to finding a brother substitute, Vinnie thinks he's found his ticket back into the recording industry. They just need to rehearse a bit, plus come up with some killer lyrics, and then they need to find some gigs. Then if Vinnie could get in touch with his old bandmate - the famous one - and maybe get turned on to a good record producer, he'd be right back where he wants to be. That's a lot of "IF's", though.
He starts by gaining Stevie's trust (and Stevie's mother's trust) by joining the therapy drumming circle at their local church/community center. Vinnie was only there to fill his pockets full of cookies and sweets, but then he heard the drumming and thought it might lead him to that mystery kid. Well, it's a movie so of course it did. And also it's a movie so of course there's an upcoming concert that showcases local talent. And also it's a movie so of course a video of Vinnie and Stevie busking goes viral at the just the right time.
But remember the autism - bringing a kid on the spectrum out at night to perform at a club full of people, it's loud, dark, people are drinking and being rude, potential triggers are everywhere and so it does NOT go well at first, and Stevie's mother nearly shuts down the whole process. But then while Vinnie is away visiting his mum, Stevie somehow has the confidence to go from bar to bar and find them a new gig. Yes, he's willing to go out and have conversations with strangers, which is a new and scary thing for him, but Vinnie did tell him how great it feels to be on stage and have a show go well, so maybe he could reach beyond the limits that his mother had put on him, it could happen.
And Vinnie does manage to reach Austin, his bandmate who managed to have a long career after the boy band. And Austin's record company does want Vinnie D. to go out on tour and be the opening act - but they don't want him to bring Stevie, they've got more professional drummers that can back him up. So Vinnie does get another shot at stardom, but he's got to go back on his word to Stevie to get it, it's a horrible dilemma. I won't spoil how it ends up, though.
I just want to mention something about autistic people - I do have a nephew on the spectrum but I want to talk about a few years back when we were making an animated feature with a co-director who lived in California. This brought us in touch with some new crew, like our sound recordist was out on the West Coast, and I think through him we met this girl who was autistic and aspired to be an animator herself. She really wanted to meet my boss, and I hadn't had much experience dealing with autistic people at the time, I didn't know how exactly it was different from ADHD or Tourette's or other conditions - honestly her brand of autism kind of reminded me of Tourette's, she just seemed to say whatever she wanted, and in her meeting with my boss she ended up spilling water on a bunch of his original art. Now I look on Instagram and I see that she's doing motivational talks about dealing with her condition and also having a career in animation. Again, not knowing all the facts here but it kind of feels a bit like she's using her diagnosis to get ahead, and that doesn't really rub me the right way. I guess you've got to use whatever life throws your way the best you can, but like if a guy with no arms wanted to become a painter, sure, go ahead, paint with your brush in your mouth if you can, but I don't really see how you turn that into a selling point to get ahead. I'll probably get in trouble for saying something like this, so I usually don't - but it's how I feel.
Similarly, Stevie in this movie applies to a prominent school of music - and I have to wonder if his autism diagnosis was a help or a hindrance. Maybe the school was trying to fulfill some kind of quota - like they had me fill out a form about whether I have a disability, and I do - hearing loss. Hey, if it helps me keep my job then I'm also half-blind and I have arthritis and gout and ADHD and psoriasis and chronic halitosis and any other condition you can think of....
My point is, if it's wrong to NOT hire someone because they have a disability or medical condition, I think it should also be wrong to hire someone just because they have a disability or medical condition, does that make sense?
Directed by Eddie Sternberg
Also starring Ed Skrein (last seen in "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver"), Leo Long, Eoin Macken (last seen in "Centurion"), Lorraine Ashbourne (last heard in "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim"), Neil Stuke (last seen in "Twice Upon a Yesterday"), Kurt Egyiawan (last seen in "A Real Pain"), Stanley Morgan, Racheal Ofori (last seen in "Artemis Fowl"), Joplin Sibtain, Tom Bacon, Carrie Rock, Aiyana Goodfellow, Jack Minton, Marcus Fraser, Jedial Stiling, Jacob Webster, Jack Maw, Jamie Wannell, Pooja Shah (last seen in "Bend It Like Beckham"), Nicole Avraamides, Cooper Filby, Edward Hyland (last seen in "The Phoenician Scheme"), Anita Reynolds, Jessica Murrain, Jennifer Joseph, Zara Symes, Mark J. Elias, Sukey Willis, Craig Stevens, Gethin Jones, Kimberley Walsh, Alex Wood.
RATING: 6 out of 10 jammie dodgers
No comments:
Post a Comment