Með allt á hreinu

i have had much fun showing this ancient piece of the homeland to my friends here in the states. it is gloriously campy but really fun. sadly, the subtitles don't do the dialog and lyrics justice, but that is probably unavoidable and didn't seem to bother my friends who all said they enjoyed it. the music is lively and that goes a long way, and the maker avoided many traps and pitfalls that such a low budget film could fall into.

i was 8 years old when this movie first came out and i have lost count of how many times i have watched it. it is still funny, though i'll admit the shine is wearing off. nevertheless i can give it my recommendations.

This film is a big laugh comedy with some great music and fabulous acting. It's about two bands, a male band (Stuðmenn) and a female band (Grýlurnar) that go into competition about the Icelandic musical market. It's a comedy about the things that you do and do not do to get attention from the fans and to be bigger than the opponent. This film takes you to that year 1982, a big year in Icelandic musical history. This is my favourite movie and it is so worth the watch. I've seen it a million times and I never get tired. (Note: The soundtrack (Með allt á hreinu) is available at all Icelandic music stores)

I was in Iceland during the summer of 1982 and accompanied Anna Bjorn to the set where this movie was being shot. They were shooting a bar scene with hundreds of extras in a small town an hour or so outside Reykjavik. I cannot remember the director's name but, sometime during the evening, he asked me to help with a scene. I was asked to dance while one of the female stars acted like she was trying to seduce me on the dance floor in an attempt to make one of the band members jealous. Although not a good dancer, I played the part. I never saw the film but would be very interested to know if the scene described was ultimately included in the movie. I was wearing a yellow knit shirt.

If you have seen this movie and recall the scene, please let me know.

"Með allt á hreinu" is one of Iceland's cult films, following two bands in 1982, Stuðmenn and Gærurnar (in actuality Grýlurnar). The story begins as the lead singer of Stuðmenn, Kristinn "Stinni" Styrkársson Proppé (Egill Ólafsson), falls out with his girlfriend and co-singer, Harpa Sjöfn Hermundardóttir(Ragnhildur Gísladóttir), just as the two are about to go on a tour around Iceland with the band. While "Stinni" proceeds with Stuðmenn, Harpa and the backing group Gærurnar become a proper band, aptly aided by charismatic manager Hekla (Anna Björnsdóttir). And so a fierce battle for the loyalty of Icelandic concert-goers ensues, in which neither party manages to get the upper hand, climaxing at Þjóðhátíð in the Westman Islands.

This movie is full of songs, incorporated into it in a very nice way. Sadly, not all the music from the film found its way onto the accompanying soundtrack, music by both Stuðmenn and Grýlurnar. The story is sometimes happy, sometimes a bit sad, but always entertaining and involving. All members of the cast do their roles well, from Egill and Ragnhildur to Eggert Þórleifsson as the hapless roadie Dúddi, who often finds himself with the worst jobs you could have on a tour, such as recruiting people for a beauty and/or talent show that nobody wants to enter. What's interesting is that the movie does not have a happy ending at all, though it ends as though it should be one.

"Með allt á hreinu" holds up remarkably well, 27 years after its release, and somehow is still as fresh (and this coming from not exactly the biggest Stuðmenn-fan on the planet). For a slice of much-loved Icelandic music-and-film history, this is a must.