Ah, July 4th weekend. Nothing kicks off summer like a time-honored, all-American holiday that encourages the mass consumption of animal flesh (charcoal-grilled to carcinogenic perfection), binge drinking, and subsequent drunken handling of highly explosive materials. Well, for most people. Being the semi-reclusive weirdo that I am (although I prefer the term “gregarious loner”), nothing kicks off summer for me like holing up for the holiday weekend with a case of Diet Dr. Pepper, a decent ration of Wha Guru Chews (I’m partial to cashew flavor) and an armload of my favorite rock musicals.
So, for your consideration (or condemnation) I now submit my Top 10 personal favorites of the genre (and some B-sides as well). As per usual, I present them in no particular ranking order (to prevent fistfights). And for those who are about to rock…I salute you.
The Commitments –“Say it leoud. I’m black and I’m prewd!” Pulling together a cast of talented yet unknown actor/musicians to “play” a group of talented yet unknown musicians was a stroke of genius from director Alan Parker. This “life imitating art imitating life” trick makes The Commitments one of the better “behind the music” movies. In some ways a thematic remake of Parker’s own 1980 musical Fame, the scene moves from New York to Dublin (look fast for a sly reference when a band member starts singing a parody of the Fame theme). These working class Irish kids don’t have the luxury of a performing arts academy, however, and there’s an undercurrent referencing the economic downturn in the British Isles (several band members are “on the dole”). The acting chemistry is superb, but it’s the amazing musical performances that really astonish, especially from the 16-year old lead singer, who has the pipes of someone who has been drinking a fifth and smoking 2 packs a day for 30 years. Gritty, realistic and spiced up with a goodly amount of ribald humor (“Fook yew, yew fat fooker!”)-this one’s a winner.
Expresso Bongo – I’ve always wondered if this 1959 British gem from Val Guest gave inspiration to Julien Temple for his Absolute Beginners– from the opening shot that swoops through London’s Soho district coffee bar/music club milieu, to its story about naive show biz beginners with stars in their eyes and exploitative agents’ hands in their wallets. Laurence Harvey plays his cheeky, success-hungry hustler/manager character with real chutzpah. The perennially elfin Cliff Richard plays it fairly straight as Harvey’s “discovery”, Bongo Herbert. The film includes performances from the original Shadows (Richards’ classic backup band) which features guitar whiz Hank Marvin (whom Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page have cited as a seminal influence). The smart, droll screenplay (by Julian More and Wolf Mankowitz) is far more sophisticated than most of the U.S. produced rock’n’roll musicals of the era (films like The Girl Can’t Help It and Rock Rock Rock!) do feature priceless performance footage, but the storylines are pretty dopey).
Hair -In the hands of a lesser director, Gerome Ragni and James Rado’s late 60s hit stage musical about the peace love and dope generation’s zeitgeist could have easily been laughed off as a dated nostalgia piece when it was belatedly brought to the screen in 1979 (at the very height of the disco era, no less). Luckily for us, Milos Forman was at the helm (he had already proven quite adept at translating theatrical pieces to the screen with a little film called One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest-you may have heard of it). Forman and screenwriter Michael Weller wisely accentuate the more timeless themes from the original play (or at least it’s nice to believe that humanism, friendship and love ultimately trumps dogma, jingoism and war, eh?). The harmonious integration of the choreography with the various New York City locations is comparable to West Side Story (I wrestled with adding that film to this list BTW, but decided that it is really closer to a “jazz ballet” than a “rock musical”). The amazingly versatile Treat Williams brings mucho verve and energy to the screen as the Zorba-like George Berger (when he jumps up on that banquet table and exults “I got my AAAAAsssss!”-you don’t doubt him for a second). The great cast includes John Savage, Beverly D’Angelo and Annie Golden (music geeks may recall her as being the lead singer of an early 80s new wave band called The Shirts). Also look for the great director Nicholas Ray in a cameo as “The General” (he died that same year).
A Hard Day’s Night -This 1964 masterpiece has been often copied, but never equaled. Shot in a semi-documentary style, the film follows a “day in the life” of John, Paul, George and Ringo at the height of their youthful exuberance and charismatic powers. Thanks to the wonderfully inventive direction of Richard Lester and Alun Owen’s cleverly tailored script, the essence of what truly made the Beatles…well, the Beatles has been captured for posterity. Although it is in reality very meticulously constructed, Lester’s film has a loose, improvisational feel-and therein lies its genius, because it still feels just as fresh and innovative as it was when it first hit theatres 45 years ago (yes, it’s been that long). There’s much to savor in every frame; to this day I catch “little” things that continue to surprise me (ever notice John “snorting” the Coke bottle?). And then, there’s the music-“I Should Have Known Better”, “All My Loving”, “Don’t Bother Me”, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, and of course the memorable title song (with that opening chord that I STILL have not been able to figure out). Lester and the Fabs teamed up again for Help!in 1965; despite the fantastic musical segments, it suffers overall from a corny plot.
Jailhouse Rock -The great tragedy of Elvis Presley’s film career is how much more exponentially insipid each successive script became. Even the part of the films that mattered the most (which would be the um, music) progressively devolved into barely listenable schmaltz (keep in mind I’m referring specifically to the movie soundtrack fodder, and not to his studio albums, which had more artistic peaks and valleys). Fortunately, however, we can still pop in a DVD of Jailhouse Rock, and experience the King at the peak of his powers before Colonel Parker took his soul. This is one of the few films where Elvis actually gets to breathe a little bit as an actor (King Creolewould be another example). Although he basically plays himself (an unassuming country boy with a musical gift from the gods who becomes an overnight sensation), he never parlayed the essence of his “Elvis-ness” so un-self-consciously before the cameras as he does here. In addition to the iconic (and downright feral) “Jailhouse Rock” song and dance number itself, Elvis rips it up with “Treat Me Nice” and “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care”.
Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains– A sort of punk version of A Star Is Born, this 1981 curio (initially shelved from theatrical distribution) managed to build a rabidly devoted cult base, thanks to showings on USA Network’s “Night Flight” back in the day. As a narrative, this effort from legendary record mogul turned movie director Lou Adler would have benefited immensely from some script doctoring (Slap Shot scripter Nancy Dowd is off her game here) but for punk/new wave nostalgia junkies, it’s still a marvelous time capsule. Diane Lane plays a nihilistic mall rat who decides to break out of the ‘burbs by forming an all-female punk band called The Stains. Armed with a mission statement (“We don’t put out!”) and a stage look that appears to have been co-opted from Divine in Pink Flamingos, this proto riot-grrl outfit sets out to conquer the world (and learn to play their instruments along the way). Music biz clichés abound, but it’s still a guilty pleasure, particularly due to the real-life rockers in the cast. Fee Waybill (surprisingly effective) and Vince Welnick of The Tubes are a hoot as a couple of washed up glam rockers. The fictional punk band, The Looters (fronted by none other than an angry young Ray Winstone) features the talents of Paul Simonon from The Clash and Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols. There’s also a memorable cameo by Black Randy (“Who?”) Well, he’s exciting to “deep catalogue” geeks like me (what can I say?).
Rock ‘n Roll High School-As far as guilty pleasures go, this goofy bit of anarchy from the stable of legendary low-budget producer Roger Corman rates pretty high (and one suspects the creators of the film were, um, “pretty high” when they dreamed it all up). Director Alan Arkush invokes the spirit of all those late 50s rock’n’roll exploitation movies (right down to having 27 year-old actors portraying “students”), substituting The Ramones for the usual clean-cut teen idols who inevitably pop up at the school dance. To this day, I’m still helplessly in love with P.J. Soles, who plays Vince Lombardi High School’s most devoted Ramones fan, Riff Randell. The great cast of B-movie troupers includes the late Paul Bartel (who directed several of his own cult classics under Corman’s tutelage) and his frequent screen partner Mary Waronov (as the uptight, iron-fisted principal). Although no one’s ever copped to it, I’m fairly sure this film inspired Square Pegs, the short-lived cult TV series from 1982. R.I.P. Joey, Dee Dee and Johnny.
Starstruck -Gillian Armstrong has primarily built her reputation on helming female empowerment dramas (My Brilliant Career, Mrs. Soffel, High Tide , The Last Days of Chez Nous, Charlotte Gray), making this sparkling and energetic “feel good” trifle from 1982 a bit of an anomaly in the Australian director’s otherwise serious-minded oeuvre. That being said, it’s the only Armstrong film I’ve watched more than once. In fact, I’ve watched it many times; it’s one of my favorite “movie therapy” prescriptions (I defy anyone to remain depressed after a viewing). It does feature a strong female character, a free spirit named Jackie (Jo Kennedy) who aspires to become Sydney’s next break-out new wave singing sensation, with the help of her kooky, entrepreneurially-minded (and frequently truant) teenaged cousin Angus (Ross O’Donovan) who has designated himself as publicist/agent/manager. Infectiously goofy and genuinely sweet-natured, featuring lots of catchy power pop (with contributions from members of Split Enz and Mental as Anything). Highlights include “I Want to Live in a House” and “The Monkey in Me”.
Tommy-There was a time (a long, long, time ago) when some of my friends insisted that the best way to appreciate The Who’s legendary rock opera was to turn off the lamps, light a candle, drop a tab of acid and listen to all four sides with a good pair of cans. I never got around to making those precise, um, arrangements, but it’s a pretty good bet that watching director Ken Russell’s insane screen adaptation is a close approximation. If you’re not familiar with his work, hang on to your hat (I’ll put it this way-Russell is not known for being subtle). Campy, raucous, garish and gross…but never boring. Luckily, the Who’s music is powerful enough to cut through all the visual clutter, and carries the day. Two members of the band have roles-Roger Daltrey is charismatic as the deaf dumb and blind Tommy, and Keith Moon has a cameo as wicked Uncle Ernie (Pete Townshend and John Entwistle only appear in music performance). The cast is an interesting cross section of film veterans (Oliver Reed, Ann-Margret, Jack Nicholson) and well-known musicians (Elton John, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner). Musical highlights include “Pinball Wizard”, “Eyesight to the Blind” “The Acid Queen” and “I’m Free”. And you haven’t lived until you’ve watched Ann-Margret, covered in baked beans and writhing in ecstasy!
True Stories-New Yawk musician/raconteur David Byrne (that’s MISTER Talking Heads to you) enters the Lone Star state of mind with this subtly satirical Texas travelogue from 1986. It is not easy to pigeonhole this one- part social satire, part long-form music video, part mockumentary. The episodic vignettes about the quirky but generally likable inhabitants of sleepy Virgil, Texas should hold your fascination once you buy into “tour-guide” Byrne’s bemused anthropological detachment (some might say, “conceit”, but there is no detectable mean-spiritedness here). Among the town’s “residents”: John Goodman, “Pops” Staples, Swoosie Kurtz and the late, great Spalding Gray. The outstanding cinematography is by Edward Lachman. Byrne’s fellow Heads have cameos performing “Wild Wild Life”. Not everyone’s cup of tea, perhaps- but for some reason, I have an emotional attachment to this film that I can’t even explain (shrug).
