Stadium Anthems takes a familiar subject - the state and fate of the Western music recording industry - and updates the analysis with an original creative vision, a searing tone and a #MeToo heart at its core. The film offers a commentary on both old and new forces at play: the hedonism of the largely male music gods tending to their "sexual ecosystem"; the auto-cue that facilitates mediocre artists; seductions of sensationalist culture; disruptive technology and online music streaming that confronts industry players with cheaper and wider competition; and the eternal struggle between 'commerce' and 'art'.
The script's visceral tone suggests a highly personal take on the development of the mainstream music industry. Indeed, a wonderful surprise at end-credits reveals that writer-director Scott Douglas Brown and the cast variously penned and performed the many original songs in the film; this is film that comes from the inside out.
The film's pulse, then, is vibrant, and also urgent. To the unprepared viewer, the quirky Stadium Anthems at first glance seems open to accusations of trying too hard on gags, but is in fact a sincere and intelligently designed story. Such is the gripping pace and plot craft that smartphone distractions need not apply. There are a couple of unexpected shapeshifter characters who at film's end delivers Stadium Anthems' own vision of hope for art and the music industry...in heartwarming fashion. Go give this film a good long chance.
