The Incoherents

Greetings again from the darkness. If you have yet to experience a mid-life crisis, it only means you haven't lived long enough. Of course, this 'crisis' often has little to do with age, and can seep into your marrow at any time ... even when you think your life is plodding along just fine. These little thoughts or doubts or ideas start creeping in, and soon the only thing on your mind is a sports car, a younger partner, traveling the world, writing a novel, changing careers, or yes, starting a rock band.

Meet Bruce. He's working a dead-end job as a 40-something year old paralegal. He's married to the lovely Liz and they have two children and a fine house. Bruce's boss takes advantage of his lack of ambition by assigning menial tasks and requiring overtime. When a burned-out Bruce arrives home in the evening, he sees the 'To-do' list his wife has posted on the fridge, and he guzzles a beer before heading down to the basement to play music and write songs. It's his escape from life, but also his tie to younger years when he and his buddies had a legitimate band named The Incoherents.

Jeff Auer stars as Bruce, and he also wrote the screenplay. When his wife Liz (Kate Arrington) green-lights his dream of getting the band back together, Bruce contacts the Hamilton brothers, drummer Tyler (Ben Foster lookalike Casey Clark) and bass player Keith (Walter Hoffman), and they all meet up at the pub owned by their former lead guitarist Jimmy (Alex Emanuel, also the film's Music Director and a Producer). The long-standing riff between Jimmy and Bruce dates back to the band's initial run, but soon the chill warms and the band is rehearsing at Annette O'Toole's studio. She calls them a "lost cause."

The (middle-aged) boys enjoy playing gigs, but can't seem to draw a crowd thanks to their utter ignorance of marketing or social media. Enter Jules (Vincent Lamberti), an agent of by-gone years who is blunt in his assessments, even if he seems to bring little else to the band. While all of this is happening, Liz is pushing to open her own long-wanted graphic design business. The idea of both spouses pursuing their dreams is quite intriguing, but the film misses a huge opportunity by focusing almost entirely on Bruce and the band. Liz is left with the scraps of a few reaction scenes (a waste of Ms. Arrington's talent).

This is director Jared Barel's first feature film, and it's likely many of the missteps will be avoided in future projects. Bruce is front and center for most of the run time, but there are other characters who seem to be much more interesting - though most of their backstories are simple teases. On the bright side, the dream of being a rock star is the dream of many, as is recapturing the vitality of a youth long passed. So the relatability factor is present.

Bruce and Liz have 2 kids, which are treated mostly as after thoughts that only come in to play when both parents have something they want to do on the same weekend. Somehow the $80 for a babysitter becomes an obstacle that can't be overcome ... this despite the band's numerous $30 per rehearsal hour in the studio and Liz's plane trip to attend her sister's book signing and put together a business plan. Very little of the real world stuff makes sense, which leaves the band part feeling a bit superfluous and hokey. Amy Carlson ("Blue Bloods") has an awkward scene as a super-promoter, and we do get see Fiona Silver perform. There are some good ideas here, but it feels like the filmmakers were a bit too close to the project for it to ever really click.

Loved the movie! I think it's one of those movies that hard to categorize, because everyone can relate to it somehow (either you like comedy, or drama, or musical; either you listen to rock, or pop, or folk, or you are not into music at all). I watched it together with my family, and everyone enjoyed it so much. The movie is about the band, The Incoherents, which decided to reunite. I actually couldn't believe it was a fictional band, because of the chemistry between actors in the band was so real. The soundtracks were amazing and really catching! Great job by the producers and music supervisor! But this movie is not only about music, it's about love, friendship, dreams, family, hope, and many other things. The cast was great! Some of my favorite characters in the movie were Jimmy (played by talented and handsome Alex Emanuel), Bruce (played by intriguing Jeff Auer), and Liz (fabulous Kate Arrington). I can go on and on about other actors, as everyone was very talented and so enjoyable to watch. I like watching indie movies, and this one has a beautiful indie vibe, and, at the same time, it's made on such a high professional level, which is a great combination, IMO. Hope my review would be helpful to viewers! Highly recommended!

Thought the film was great even though the plot isn't really relatable to anything in my life. I still found the story touching and engaging and you stay entertained with the music and great bands featured! Would highly recommend for you Friday night flick this week!!

The Incoherents is an AMAZING indie rock and roll flick set in New York City. Bruce (Played by the ruggedly handsome Jeff Auer) is a bored paralegal living with his wife Liz (The luminous Kate Arrington) and their two kids in the 'burbs. Bruce is facing a sort of mid-life crisis and he seeks comfort, as he always seemingly has, by picking up his guitar and attempting to play those troubles away. Once upon a time, Bruce was in a band called, you guessed it, The Incoherents. Back in the 90's it looked like they might blow up big, but it didn't happen. Instead they just sort of fell apart. It's always been Bruce's dream to GET THE BAND BACK TOGETHER! Bruce decided enough is enough, and goes about recruiting the old gang. Getting the rhythm section back together proves easy enough: Drummer Tyler Hamilton (Played the edgy Casey Clark) and bassist Keith Hamilton (The understated Walter Hoffman) are on board, as they figure some diversion from their own day to day drudgery (Tyler's a wedding drummer, Keith is an urban planner of some sort) is probably good for their sanity. The toughest nut to crack is the lead guitarist, Jimmy (Played by an intense Alex Emanuel): Jimmy is still angry about the way stuff went down with Bruce back in the day, and he holds some serious grudges. Jimmy is attempting to run the type of bar you saw in NYC all the time 20 years ago: Cheap drinks, good tunes, and loads of regulars giving the place a real cool "lived in" vibe. As most folks who either live in, or have visited NYC recently, those places are a dying breed, and Jimmy is struggling to get by. It's not giving away any spoilers when I say Jimmy eventually agrees to reunite the band. At first a lot of the old friction is rearing its ugly head at a few early gigs/rehearsals, but then a savior arrives in the form of The Jules (Played by the hysterical Vincent Lamberti). The Jules is a down on his luck manager, and he takes The Incoherents on as a sort of reclamation project for all of them. While the band starts to gel, Bruce and Liz are having problems at home. Bruce is not a kid anymore: He's neglecting Liz and he's letting a lot of obligations slide. She's not happy at all, and the marriage is on the rocks. This is a classic story of trying to balance passion and the mundane. How does one do that as an adult? It's a question that this film tackles beautifully. Jeff Auer wrote the touching/funny screenplay, and deserves a ton of the credit. The actors on the whole are amazing. The fabulous Annette O'Toole steals all her scenes as a very old school rehearsal space owner. Margaret Anne Florence is beyond charming as a music blogger who tries to drum up interest in the band, and Amy Carlson is fantastic as the music executive who may or may not give the Incoherents the big break they are praying for. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the MUSIC in a film about indie rock: It's fabulous. The compositions were done by Alex Emanuel, who played Jimmy so beautifully in the film. Last, but certainly not least, we have to mention the director of the film, Jared Barel: The Incoherents, all of its moving parts, and multiple locations, never loses momentum at all. In fact the film progresses through to its ultimate story arc rather seamlessly. Barel does an amazing job. The film looks and sounds great. The acting is terrific. And the story is quite moving. What else could you want? I can't recommend this film highly enough!!

I didn't know what to expect when I sat down to see the film, but I left feeling hopeful and wanting to "pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday" to quote The Who. Great story, perfect cast (I especially liked the roles of "Jimmy", played by Alex Emanuel, "Tyler", played by Casey Clark, "The Jules", played by Vincent Lamberti, and "Liz", played by Kate Arrington). Emanuel's performance was subtle and cool, Clark was dry and hilarious, Lamberti a charming rogue and Arrington was so complete, she's a heluvan actress. The music by the band struck me as well. I love music form that period (the 90s) and these songs brought me back. They didn't sound just like anything but reminded me of The Replacements, Pavement, Sonic Youth, The Afghan Wigs and other acts from that era. Kudos to the song writing team of Emanuel and Jeff Auer (the film's talented writer and lead actor). Kudos also to the director Jared Barel for crafting the script to make this low-budget indie look and sound so damn good! If you like indie rock and are looking for a feel good film about real underdog types, definitely check out The Incoherents! This film should be a tv show, for real, I'd follow these characters season after season and would love to hear more music by the band!.