Light of Day

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.

I wouldn't go as far as to say this is the greatest rock n roll movie Ever, but I think this is the greatest bar band movie EVER! I grew up around Cleveland about this time, and this is how it was! My brothers are muscicians, and this was THEIR story! Back then, not many movies were filmed in Cleveland because of how it looked. It was sooooo refreshing to see a movie that not only showed how Cleveland looked, but how the people that lived there REALLY were! Joe( Michael J. Fox) reminds me so much of my brother it's scary! And Patti ( Joan Jett) was who I wanted to be!! Not to mention the music ROCKS!! I have been to the Euclid Tavern ( I think it's closed now) and the Akron Agaora (I know that's closed) and that's how they really were! Kudos to Paul Schrader for making this movie! BTW........CLEVELAND ROCKS!!!!! (Did I mention that Michael J. Fox is my favorite actor? GET BETTER MICHAEL!!!!!!!)

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.

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.

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!