Roadie

Roadie is a fun movie with a chance to see some rock and rollers on the screen. Meatloaf stars and plays a roadie (big stretch there) who is great at fixing stuff and inventing things. A talent he picked up from his Dad played by the unforgettable Art Carney (the one and only Ed Norton from The Honeymooners). Well Meatloaf hits the road and helps the likes of Debbie Harry and her band Blondie, Alice Cooper, Hank Williams Jr among others. Blondie really sound great singing Ring of Fire. The movie is fun and humorous.

I'm probably one of about 5 people in the world who actually saw this in the theatres back in 1980, and I am absolutely thrilled it's now out on DVD. The film is a bonafide B-movie cult classic. Anyone who has ever lived in Austin, particularly in the pre-90's high-tech boom, will treasure the asthetics of the film. It has all the elements that make Austin the weird, unique town that it is. It totally stereotypes Texans, which makes it all the more funny to this Texan. People who don't understand Austin (or Texas) won't get the film, and probably won't like it.

High points of the film include a Hank Williams Jr./Roy Orbison duet singing "The Eyes of Texas" (the school song of the University of Texas at Austin) to break up a bar brawl; a high-speed chase through downtown Austin involving Austin police, a Lone Star Beer truck, and a limousine; and an outdoor rock concert, the "Rock N Roll Circus", featuring Blondie singing a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire". Notice the racetrack to the above right of the stage, which is supposed to be located somewhere in Idaho. Austinites will recognize it as Manor Downs.

I recommend the film to anyone who enjoys a mindless, entertaining movie. Brain power is not needed to see this film, and is actually discouraged.

I saw this movie in the theatre (independant movie house), in 1980. I loved it. It is a very fun movie, filled with the rebellious spirit of rock & roll. I hope, by some miracle, it comes to DVD. With all the great music, this movie would make a great sountrack (isolated score, hmmm).

Roadie (1980)

** (out of 4)

Travis Redfish (Meat Loaf) is a man who can fix anything so he's hired by a promoter to become a roadie and make sure a rock and roll show keeps going without issues. Lola (Kaki Hunter) is a virgin groupie who wants to land in NYC so that she can give herself to Alice Cooper (who plays himself). ROADIE was one of many musicals that went down as a major flop back in the day but looking at the picture today you can't help but find it somewhat charming and of course there's all the major talent on display. I think the biggest problem can be spotted in the opening credits when you see that four different people are credited with the story. This "story" appears to have about four different sides and all of them are fighting against one another and in the end you're really left with a movie that doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. On one hand, you have a behind the scenes look at a rock show on tour but the thing is so tame that you really do feel as if you're watching something that has been watered down. On another hand you have a groupie getting used to the road but Meat Loaf's character is so full of holes that you have a hard time making any sense out of him. Another problem with the story is that Loaf's character goes "crazy" at times and apparently this is from an earlier UFO abduction but this subplot is just downright annoying. The story goes off in so many directions that you're head will be hurting by the time it's over or you at least be sitting there wondering why they couldn't have just left the spotlight on some of the music acts. Hank Williams, Jr., Blondie, Asleep at the Wheel, Roy Orbison, Jack Elliott and The Pleasant Valley Boys are just a few of the acts that appear and most of them give good performances. We even get a duet between Williams and Orbison, which is certainly worth sitting through. Cooper gets the biggest role of any of the musical acts and he has proved that he can be a very reliable actor and his charm is certain quite high here. One wishes that he had been given even more screen time as he's quite funny here and we also get a couple songs including Only Women Bleed. Meat Loaf also delivers a pretty likable performance as he certainly makes you entertained by his character even though it's underwritten. Hunter is also good in her role. Art Carney appears of Loaf's father but he's sadly wasted. ROADIE is a pretty bad movie due to its bad screenplay but at the same time fans of the musical acts should be somewhat entertained with the music alone. There's a good film somewhere in here but sadly it just goes off in way too many directions.

This movie, in my opinion has many of the features of a cult classic.

The acting is uneven, the comedy is uneven, and the plot is a cliché.

But the movie is worth watching (as a cult movie,) for a number of reasons.

1) Ecletic and enjoyable sound track including a fun cover of Ring of Fire (and you can't experience too many covers of Ring of Fire.) 2) A mix of different comic elements such as an amusing car chase, and Forest Gump like moments where Redfish is simply in the right place at the right time 3) Great rock and roll cameos 4) Occasional surreal moments, if you like that kind of thing

Another part I found refreshing was doing a rock and roll movie involving a groupie with no gratuitous sex or nudity. I have nothing against those things, but its refreshing to see a movie that had no need for them.

If you take the movie seriously for a minute, or are looking for a consistent style of humor you will be disappointed. You need to be the sort of person who likes off beat movies simply because they are offbeat.