Im Lichte des Tages

Back when I was 21, I went with a few friends to see another film (I forget which, now) that had sold out, leaving us with this film as an option that we took.

I was so pleasantly surprised that a film I would otherwise never have bothered with turned out to be so resonant with me.

I expected a teenybopper rock'n'roll picture. This film is nothing close to that. This is a gritty, hard-edged slice of life. It is full of realistic human emotion and genuine observation of actual "rock'n'roll" lifestyle, which for the vast majority of rockers means nightly sharing of a van and a motel room and splitting up a few hundred bucks five or six ways before expenses. The scene in "Motel Hell" where Fox doles out the money (after enumerating the expenses including "forty-five dollars for that tire, and eighteen for the Chinese feast") just struck such a ringingly true chord with me.

The secondary drama, which plays out as you understand that the primary drama (will the band make it?) is already moot (Fox knows that the Barbusters have no chance; Jett continues to chase the dream regardless) commences with the discovery of their mother's illness.

The interplay between Jett and her mother in the hospital as the mother lays dying and they reconcile their long-hardened differences is surprisingly well-played, especially on Joan Jett's part. I expected great acting from the superb Gena Rowlands; I expected zero from Jett and was blown away instead. I'm surprised she never got any other real roles; I found her to be extremely easy on the eyes and quite a lovely and talented actress. Whatever.

The film has a terrific ending. No, they don't make it to the big-time, but you never expect that to happen anyway. It is simply a satisfying ending that matches the size and scope of this terrific film, which was never intended to be anything more than a look at a Cleveland family who has two members who happen to play in a road band.

Catch it once in your lifetime.

I thought this film had an original story and a great script. Michael J. Fox puts forth a wonderful attempt to make us believe he is Joe Rasnick, aspiring rock performer, and, as always his acting is on the level and heartfelt. Joan Jett, while trying really hard to play the wild and sometimes estranged sister Patti, just can't seem to find the emotion needed to make her role believable (her musical performance doesn't disappoint, though). Gena Rowlands, as usual, is superb in her attempt to make us buy her as Joan Jett's righteous and disapproving mother. All in all entertaining, yet not quite believable.

This movie is not a "rock" movie. It is a "people" movie. The performances turned in by the cast were complete, realistic and believable. I say this from the standpoint of someone (a female) who hammered it out in a working rock band for 20 years... The characters had unfortunate crappy jobs, they DID have problems with their parents and each other, as life on the road is HARD. In fact, out of all the "rock-n-roll" movies I have ever seen, this played out to touch home better than anything else. The person who wrote the scathing review ~ I'd bet my Gibson he was never in a bar band, scraping dimes together, stealing food. And I'd bet my SM57 that he never had to play the cheesy Holiday Inn Lounge. Anyone who thinks being in a working band is fun, easy, nothing but a good time, check out Light Of Day. It will open your eyes. The side-plot of an illness that strikes the family is more than touching and also true to life, as I had the same thing happened to me. The dialogue in the movie is so realistic that I can't watch it without cringing. This movie is the real deal, not some drummed up rock-n-roll fantasy compiled for "wanna be's" or wishful thinkers.

In 1987, who would have guessed that the smirky kid from "Family Ties" had such range or that a punky girl rocker could deliver such a moving performance? "Light of Day" is a small but powerful film carried by incredible performances by Michael J. Fox, Joan Jett, and Gena Rowlands. Director Paul Schrader just lets the cameras roll while Fox and Jett deliver the goods in this simple tale of dreams, family, and redemption. The power of this film resides in the realism and sincerity of the interactions between Fox, Jett, and Rowlands. Seventeen years later, it still wrings more than few tears and leaves the viewer deeply satisfied. *****5-Stars! Bravo!

Joe (Michael J. Fox) and Patti (Joan Jetti) play in the band `The Barbusters'. They use to play in bars in the suburbs. Patti is the singer of the band and a single mother, has a beautiful son and is very rejected by her mother Jeanette (Gena Rowlands). They do not accept and understand each other. The father of Patti's son is unknown by her family. Patti wants to follow the career of musician, but her brother uses the band indeed as an alternative for the lack of job. Joe is the link between Patti and Jeanette, trying to resolve and absorb their problems. A terminal cancer in Jeanette changes the relationship among the family and cruel revelations are presented in the end, with a final redemption of the characters. The melodramatic screenplay of this movie looks like a Mexican soap opera, but the soundtrack is great. There is a minor participation of Jimmie Vaughn, as the singer of another band (`The Fabulous Thunderbirds'). This movie is not a masterpiece, but entertains, especially if the viewer watches it without any expectation, just for killing time. My vote is five.