Crazy

I recently saw Crazy at the Hoboken Film Festival and was blown away by every aspect of the movie. Not knowing anything about the life of Hank Garland I was captivated from the opening scene to the very end. The movie is extremely well written and well cast. The actors have their characters down pat and give very believable performances, especially Waylon Payne as Hank. Director Rick Bieber's technique of filling the screen with his characters' faces completely draws you in, and Ali Larter has never looked more beautiful. I can't wait to see it on a big theatrical screen. If you like music of any kind you'll find this film fascinating.

I was able to view this film at the Charleston Film Festival where it won Best Picture. I did not know who Hank Garland was. I thought it was a big film for the festival which is why I wanted to view it, there was a lot of hype on the film before it came to Charleston, SC.

I was pleasantly surprised at the casting of the film. Waylon Payne which at the time didn't know he was also in Walk the Line was an amazing feature to the film. Ali Larter of course is known to many movie goers but Waylon stole the performance. He was great on camera, very believable, an extraordinary actor. I look forward to seeing more of what he can do on film.

I would recommend seeing this film when it releases. Rick Bieber is not a new filmmaker, he has a long Bio of being in charge of HBO Pictures to Producing such films that we already know such as Flatliners. This was a great effort, I applaud the entire Cast & Crew, job well done!

Apparently Hank Garland was a great guitar player. Perhaps a great musician and not much else. In keeping with that, the music in this film was great as well, but the story was strangely unmoving.

If this pic is to be believed, he was bad at marriage. He married a woman but neither one loved the other in the truest sense of that word, that is wanting their happiness more than one's own. Each just wanted some of their needs met. On the positive side, Garland was essentially color-blind when it came to music but again, that may not have been a real virtue in his case as much as just a failure to see anything outside the music.

Because of his arrogance and talent he was a problem for those around him. That failing eventually brought about much of the unhappiness in his life.

The ending sort of suggested that in the end he was left with little but the songs he'd recorded and strangely that might have been enough. As with many movies, things are simplified to fit in the allotted time and I'm still unclear about many aspects of his life. For example, he's listed as being survived by two daughters and two grandsons named Garland. I'm not clear how that was possible. Given that facts like that have been left out of this film, I wonder what else was left out.

BTW... there is another, very different movie C.R.A.Z.Y. that I enjoyed more and it has great music as well.

Wanted this movie to better, felt more like 'The Real World' than 'Walk the Line'. anti climactic and confusing in places, underdeveloped character re pore. important story lines disregarded in place of empty dialog. issues of race as well as alcoholism thrown into the forefront briefly with little or no precedent set earlier in the film. solid acting lost due to wavering plot lines and lack of character development save that of Hank Garland. seemingly contrived movie title, this movie often feigns at an 'Aviator' like tragedy when in reality comes closer to that of an 'A.I.' with a melancholy and somewhat abrupt ending. carried by performance of main character Hank Garland (Waylon Payne), whose performance just might be worth the price of admission.

In Hawaii where the residents truly value guitar talent and a good story, Crazy did not leave the 2008 Big Island Film Festival audiences disappointed. Although the Hawaiian guitar music is slack key style, the audiences appreciated the tumultuous story of Hank Garland's Nashville career. Under the stars, both residents and visitors enjoyed the story, the performance of Waylon, the technical quality of the films and the music of the era. Many commented on how much the music of Crazy was tied to the music of their parents. Many also asked when Crazy was coming to the theaters, so they could see it again and share it with their friends. It was a hit at Big Island Film Festival and won the Golden Honu Award for Best Feature. We are looking forward to Ric Bieber's next film.