Still Crazy

I'm 60 years old, a guitarist, (lead/rhythm), and over the last forty years, I've been in four bands, it's all there, the fights, the foul-ups, the rotten food, the worse accommodation, always travelling, little or no money, and every one was drunk or high. But, the clubs, the fans, and the music, made it all worth it! Just like Strange Fruit! I'm too damn old for it now, and the arthritis in the hands and hips mean no more rocking, but for the length of that video, it all came back, and it was all there! The birds, the brawls, and the booze! And I was young again! It's just like Billy Connolly's voice over, God likes that 70's stuff! Rock On Forever!

One of the best films I have seen in ages, it had me laughing and giggling all the way through. Basic storyline - Glam rock band splits in the 1970s due to the excessives of rock life and internal agruments. Twenty years later the band reunite for a reunion festival, with all the old frictions still going strong. Can they make a go of it this time or will they "bollocks it up" again. The experience writing of Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais coupled with superb acting by Jimmy Nail, Timothy Spall and especially Bill Nighy makes it a film well worth watching!

Still Crazy was certainly influenced by This Is Spinal Tap, and elements from that classic can be found all over the place, but the two should not be compared. You won't find the sharp satire of Spinal Tap in this movie; nor will you find the scope and heart of Almost Famous. Still Crazy is a small, sweet comedy in the vein of Brassed Off, The Commitments and The Full Monty, and it's highly recommended for anybody who enjoyed those movies and has any fondness towards the grandiose stadium rock of the 70's. Still Crazy is funny, fast-paced and heartwarming, and backed with some of the finest actors the UK has to offer, it's a fantastic piece of entertainment and one that's fun returning to over and over again. It's a bit slow in its first half, but by the ending it's irresistibly fun, thanks to the wonderful characters (every member of the band was well-developed as a believable and likable character) and the contagious soundtrack. A great, light-weight movie for fans of true rock n' roll.

Brian Gibson's Still Crazy was not a film on my list. However, one afternoon I was channel surfing on a satellite dish and came across this AMAZING film about a 1970's rock & roll band who comes back together twenty years after their disasterous final concert. For keyboard player Tony (Stephen Rea), guitar player/backup singer Les (Jimmy Nail), lead singer Ray (Bill Nighy), drummer Beano (Timothy Spall), "road dog" Hughie (Billy Connolly), and manager Karen (Juliet Aubrey), a second chance is a God send. Unfortunately, they are lacking two players, Keith, who died of a drug overdose two years before the Strange Fruit's final concert, and Brian, his brother, a stunning guitar player who was the genious and the glue of the band. Still Crazy is a fabulous mixture of British comedy, damn fine music, and superb performances, especially by Bill Nighy as the pathetically egotistical Ray Simms. Helena Bergstrom is also hilarious as Ray's over-protective wife, Astrid. Watch especially for a couple of poignant scenes between Juliet Aubrey and Bruce Robinson, who appears in a touching cameo. Out of 10 stars, I give this hilarious and sweet rock & roll resurrection film a good, solid 10!

This is perhaps the best rockumentary ever- a British, better This Is Spinal Tap. The characters are believable, the plot is great, and you can genuinely empathise with some of the events- such as Ray's problem with fitting in the band.

The soundtrack is excellent. Real period stuff, even if it is in the same key, you'll be humming some of the songs for days. What I liked was the nearly all-British cast, with some of the favourite household names. Ray's wife is priceless...

The film never drags, it just goes at the right pace, and has some genuinely funny sections in it. A generator of some really good catchphrases!

It's a hidden diamond.