Chasing the Blues

The devil is in the details. Ha ha, no not just the lyrics to make you evil, but the lack of a menu and subtitles so dialogue is not important which it should have been because the acting was too "acting". And, when the DVD was done my player listed it's title as "Hong Kong Phooey" a '70s cartoon animation series. Now that's cheap going a bit too far. On a positive note the usual standard mix of oldie's blues as background.

Not much of a beginning and no ending. Bad movie, that's why it did not make any money.

As I see it, this dark comedy has its moments but never really gels into a substantial watch. Grant Rosenmeyer portrays Alan, a teacher and record collector. who is just emerging from a long prison stretch. When he's informed by an attorney (Jon Lovitz-who has only a minor role here) that there's a storage locker of old records available for his perusal, Alan will soon board a bus and head down that way.

On the bus, he'll meet a young lady (Chelsea Tavares) and Alan will recount to her an amazing tale of a extremely valuable record that may be in the collection he's heading for. But he'll also relay the info that the record may be cursed as to anyone that associates with it and why.

Also, Alan will have to contend with a rival collector (Ronald L. Conner) who also is just out of prison and is aiming for the same prize. Twenty years before, they tried to steal or manipulate an elderly woman (Anna Maria Horsford) out of possession of the record I might note Horsford is a hoot here in here portrayal of Mrs. Walker.

Overall, I thought some things worked better than others here, so a mixed bag. But the movie, in my opinion, could have used some sharper comedic moments.

To note: there were no subtitles available on my DVD copy.

The problems with movies like these is that there is no marketing and distribution.

I can fault this movie for only having two protagonists going for the gold. If there was such a holy grail of a record out there, two virtual unknowns would not be the ones chasing after it. But then, I can fault every single big budget action movie for the same reason of exclusiveness. You see every single big budget actioneer has only one or two people capable of saving the world, galaxy or whatever, and usually only someone from the U. S. or England, when in fact, there are millions that could have filled the bill. So, we'll excuse that fault as movie making ruts.

The other fault of the movie is that both protagonists don't show age, with the exception of one losing a cheesy activator wig.

Even with those two faults, this movie deserves a ten.

From the beginning, you want to believe that this individual back in 1938 was based off of a real person. His is a compelling story that I wish they could have delved into more, but that probably would have made the movie overly long.

John Lovitz is really well known as a cheese actor, so seeing him play somewhat of a believable sleazy character makes the beginning and the end somewhat better.

For record collectors, true record collectors, ghost records are holy grails that only a few can afford and truly appreciate. Turntable needle snobs need not apply. I've read about ghost records for years and the real stories behind them, so seeing a good fictitious tail about one, makes for a good Sunday afternoon matinee.

Although not as big budgeted as "The Legend of 1900", there is definitely a fun little somewhat mystical Americana in here. Too bad there was no proper marketing or distribution.