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This film may not be a work of genius, but it touched me deeply in 1987 and it still does. Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox touch a chord literally and figuratively as polar opposite siblings who share a passion for music. Gena Rowlands is absolutely brilliant as the desperately ill mother who clings to her faith for solace and dominates her children out of fear for them. The soundtrack is jam-packed with old-fashioned style rock n' roll. An instrumental piece (titled Elegy) underscores the leaden sadness throughout the film and is ethereal and beautiful. For anyone who has struggled with family strife, there will be familiar territory here. This film is, in my opinion, underrated and worth a second (or a first!) look.

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.

This was another attempt by MJF to step away from Family Ties (the other at the same time frame was Bright Lights Big City).

Bright Lights is probably a slightly better movie but this is a better character for Fox. He is helped considerably by his seriously convincing (lol) co start Joan Jett playing a musician (not much of a stretch I know!)

That co star helps Fox be convincing enough.

It has its cheesy moments but they are over come by the 2 stars :)

I enjoyed the movie because it reminded me of growing up in Cleveland and going to bars and listening to some AWSOME bar bands that no one has ever heard of. Joan Jett does a fine job acting and the soundtrack is great.

Although the movie may be disappointing, the soundtrack sure is not! It contains unique songs of Joan Jett, like the titletrack or the heavy rocker 'Rabbit's got the gun'. Even Michael J feels like singing a song (but if that was such a great idea...) Anyway, for all that like Joan as a musician the soundtrack is a must-have.

As a huge Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor fan, I was going to see this movie at some point in time, and after seeing it, I thought it was pretty good. Joat Jett gives a pretty awesome performance throughout, and Michael J. Fox is solid but seems a little meek for this kind of role, to me. Michael McKean was a nice surprise in the band as well (for fans of Spinal Tap and his work on Christopher Guest's movies).

This movie is all about the ambition of their "bar band" and trying to make your dreams happen, but there's not a lot to say about the plot of the movie. It's typical "my children don't believe in Jesus and are horrible to me" drama with an added twist that doesn't really make you sway one way or the other towards any of the characters. If you're a music fan, you'll appreciate the tale of how bands try and make their dream happen, but otherwise, it's kind of long for such a simple story and lacks the intrigue to keep watching after a certain point.

I don't know how I managed to sit through all of this movie. It's so boring from the start to the end! I never thought Joan Jett could sing and this proves i'm right! Her shouting, hard voice clashing over the other musicians parts makes the film so irritating. The band that sister and brother Pattie (Jett) and Joe (Fox) have called the Barbusters have some terribly cliched songs. 'This Means War'-shouting bad voice, 'It's All Coming Down Tonight'- rubbish head-banger! and all the other so-called 'songs' that feature. The screenplay throughout the movie is so slow and depressing and Joan Jett's acting can't really get any worse from the first 20mins! Even Michael J Fox was not his usual standard in this tripe. Gena Rowlands plays their mother who comes down with cancer and dies (cliche!) and surprise surprise Pattie never got along with her mother, but it turns out okay because she goes back to the club with the Barbusters and Churns out dumb power chord heavy rock'n'roll music to play the film out! This movie is so badly done and cliched that it's pretty unbareable to see through! It's a depressing and dull drama that will not grow on you! Steer clear of this cheaply-made tosh that tries to pass itself off as a so-called 'drama'!!!

The Rasnicks are a family from the Cleveland area. Patti (Joan Jett) is a single mom obsessed with her rock and roll dreams. Joe (Michael J. Fox) is her easy-going brother. Her religious mother Jeanette (Gena Rowlands) berates her for her life choices. Bu Montgomery (Michael McKean) is a fellow bandmate with Patti and Joe.

The music is half the battle. The good news is that Joan is here. I don't know if Michael is Rock and Roll but at least, he's going all in with his hair. He can't sell me on being Rock and Roll but that's somewhat fine for the role. The narrative needs a better drive to have higher tension. Maybe Patti could forget to pick up the kid from school. Her house needs to be a mess. The cops can be called. Her motherhood skill is put into question and she could be threatened with legal action. The story needs a steadier ramp up. That's why the fight seems to come out of nowhere. I really don't believe in the physical fight. The movie is saved by Joan Jett's rock intensity. Her whole body exudes rock and roll. Gena Rowlands is a powerhouse. Fox is being Fox. It's Joan, Born in the U. S. A.

Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett are an unlikely sibling twosome, living in Cleveland with Jett's illegitimate kid and hoping to get their rock-and-roll band off the ground (Fox struggles with an underwritten character, at once rebellious and responsible, while Jett talks with a thick, streetwise drawl suggesting she's from the opposite side of town). This downbeat movie has none of the spirit of Joan Jett's rock videos from the 1980s; a few of the camera set-ups are good, but the locations aren't especially well-captured and the music--integral to the story--isn't strong enough to provide the necessary uplift the soapy plot desperately needs. Fox has a solid scene fighting with his sister over her boy, although a whole sequence with him quitting the band over a shoplifting incident doesn't wash. Gena Rowlands is admirable as their mother (with a medical condition!), but there's too much of her and this plot-thread fails to build momentum. "Back to the Future" fans passed on this, and who can blame them? Despite being a personal project from writer-director Paul Schrader, his handling is pedestrian, sometimes awkward or unsure, and his dialogue doesn't have the canny ring of truth--it's all a blue-collar cliché. ** from ****

Back when I was 21, I went with a few friends to see another film (I forget which, now) that had sold out, leaving us with this film as an option that we took.

I was so pleasantly surprised that a film I would otherwise never have bothered with turned out to be so resonant with me.

I expected a teenybopper rock'n'roll picture. This film is nothing close to that. This is a gritty, hard-edged slice of life. It is full of realistic human emotion and genuine observation of actual "rock'n'roll" lifestyle, which for the vast majority of rockers means nightly sharing of a van and a motel room and splitting up a few hundred bucks five or six ways before expenses. The scene in "Motel Hell" where Fox doles out the money (after enumerating the expenses including "forty-five dollars for that tire, and eighteen for the Chinese feast") just struck such a ringingly true chord with me.

The secondary drama, which plays out as you understand that the primary drama (will the band make it?) is already moot (Fox knows that the Barbusters have no chance; Jett continues to chase the dream regardless) commences with the discovery of their mother's illness.

The interplay between Jett and her mother in the hospital as the mother lays dying and they reconcile their long-hardened differences is surprisingly well-played, especially on Joan Jett's part. I expected great acting from the superb Gena Rowlands; I expected zero from Jett and was blown away instead. I'm surprised she never got any other real roles; I found her to be extremely easy on the eyes and quite a lovely and talented actress. Whatever.

The film has a terrific ending. No, they don't make it to the big-time, but you never expect that to happen anyway. It is simply a satisfying ending that matches the size and scope of this terrific film, which was never intended to be anything more than a look at a Cleveland family who has two members who happen to play in a road band.

Catch it once in your lifetime.

OK ... The soundtrack is awesome (since I just LOVE The Blackhearts), and the plot is a good idea. But I'm afraid the didn't use that idea too well. About a girl, who is a bit "lost", and who only care about her ambition to the rock band she's playing in. She's got a child, but who cares? This is rock and roll it's all about ... That's the most remarkable thing in the movie, when she cares less and less about her baby, and more about the band. Finally the kid calls her uncle "dad" ...

So even if you love rock and roll (like I do), don't stay on drugs, don't mess your life up, don't give it all up for the music; dream big, live the life, but keep the family thing as the most important thing in your life.

I never enjoyed the cutesy characters they always have Fox portray. Here he does a great job as a "regular", decent guy who is loyal to his family and just wants to know what his dream is. I think that Joan Jett did a fantastic job -- not too many musicians can cross over so well into movies. Fox and Jett are believable as brother and sister and Gena Rowlands is always incredible.

I think this movie was panned because people expect Mr. Fox to be silly and boyish (two things that he wasn't in this movie.) Good for you, Michael.

"Light of Day", written and directed by Paul Schrader, is a very lame attempt at a meaningful and 'cool' rock and roll drama. Schrader tries to make his audience 'roll with the punches and rock with your heart' but fails to do either. The drama is both badly handled - by cast and crew alike - and uninteresting.

The movie starred the then hugely popular Michael J. Fox and rocker Joan Jett as brother and sister. Gena Rowlands played their mom. The music, written by Bruce Springsteen surprisingly, is quite average.

I had to force myself to sit through this, which only left me with a feeling of boredom.

Thursday, November 21, 1991 - Video

Paul Schrader is one of the most bold and daring writers in film history, and Light Of Day was probably just a chance to get to make a movie and who could blame him for wanting that? He did the best he could with it. The biggest flaw is the decision to go with MICHAEL J. FOX and JOAN JETT as the leads, neither of them have the weight to make it believable.

FOX acting like a tough guy is just laughable and there's too much focus on the actual music they play which really just sucks.

Not SCHRADERS best work, but an admirable effort considering.

The film probably would of worked well with a more edgy and darker story and maybe with someone like SEAN PENN in the lead role and an actual actress in the lead.

If SCHRADER was able to put his full signature on this film it could of been great

did not "score" Natural Born Killers, he merely assembled and produced the soundtrack album. He also contributed a new song to that film and soundtrack (as NIN). Trent Reznor solo contributed two instrumentals to the Lost Highway score/soundtrack... And he also played piano in some of the music for World Traveler... But he has yet to score a film a la Billy Corgan for Stigmata.

Not quite bad enough to be funny. Simply a grueling grind for the first 45 minutes. After that, I could take no more.

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.

It has been a while since I sat through this movie that I saw at the theatre because Michael J. Fox was in it and his movies can be pretty good. He should stick to comedy where he shines. The two things I remember about this movie is i) one of the few movies I have gone to with my mother and ii) there is one scene where there is supposed to be high drama and a very serious line is said. The theatre burst into laughter for a variety of reasons including the character spoke words that were obvious to anyone watching, the acting was so bad, and everyone was thinking "enough already." So my mom did not particularly like the film but she was confused because laughing usually implies a comedy and she could not see anything funny in this movie.

Light of Day is one of my favourite Rock n' Roll films. Not the most popular choice, I'll grant you. A lot of people might question that, but let me explain my point of view. Most rock films deal with the rock star lifestyle. You know all the clichés: sex, drugs, booze, limos, groupies, hotel room demolition and general decadence (not that there's anything wrong with that; Spinal Tap is another favourite of mine!). In other words they deal with what is essentially UNREALITY for the vast majority of rockers out there. Instead they deal with a fantasy or an ideal, with what all us rockers would like to think is waiting for us just around the corner. Light of Day, on the other hand, deals with real life, and what Rock n' Roll means to several ordinary people. Several ordinary people dealing with ordinary, everyday problems; work, relationships, family, estrangement, disillusionment. Music is their refuge. As Patti Rasnick (played by Joan Jett) says "Music is all that matters. One hour on stage makes up for the other 23", and that is essentially the theme of the movie; No matter what life throws at us, we'll get through it as long as we have music. A theme that is reinforced by the final musical performance of the movie (I wont give too much away, don't worry).

There is absolutely no glamour to be found in this movie whatsoever; and that's one of the things I love about it! Its pure, unglamorous REALITY. Travelling in a van, playing dives, boosting food to survive another day on the road and doing it all for the love of Rock n' Roll, and knowing that the alternative is just too f**king odious to seriously contemplate... Okay sorry, I'm getting a bit heavy handed with my review here, but anyway, in conclusion: forget Family Ties (I haven't even seen an episode of that show in about 15 years, who gives a damn?), Michael J. Fox does an awesome and realistic job in Light of Day (all the members of The Barbusters played live in the performance scenes), the plot has a subtlety and realism missing in practically every other rock film I've seen, and the songs are great! Yes, I recommend this film to anybody who's ever played in a travelling band, or just loves Rock n' Roll.

BTW, in case my American friends are wondering: "favourite", "glamour" and "travelling" are not spelling mistakes. ;-)

This film is notable for two reasons: The excellent writing, and the amazing acting performances of Joan Jett (surprise - this woman can ACT!), and Michael J. Fox.

Mature, heart-wrentching emotional drama centered on the trials of a dysfunctional family headed by matriarch Gena Rowlands - who also gives a stellar performance. Jett should have been nominated for an Oscar for her performance - particularly the scenes with her dying mother. An insightful, brutally honest script coupled with exceptional acting produces a film of unusual emotional power. Very moving and thought-provoking. A must-see, and definitely one of the best films of the 1980s.

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!