Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back

This docudrama starts with MeatLoaf (W. Earl Brown) as a kid growing up in Dallas 1958. He's a fat kid with a sick mother and a drunken abusive father. He's bullied by the school kids. He played high school football, and got into drama. He strikes out for Hollywood after the death of his mother eventually connecting with composer Jim Steinman (Zachary Throne) and future wife Leslie Edmonds (Dedee Pfeiffer). But old demons continue to haunt him.

I wouldn't say this is good drama. There are highlights, and the movie is checking off one highlight after another. There is even a 'The Voice' moment as Jim Steinman turns around and shockingly finds the chubby man with the Wagner voice. Brown does a great job impersonating MeatLoaf. I'm sure he got the job for his striking resemblance but they got a great actor to boot. He's the only one saving this from being a hopelessly bland docudrama.

where do i start? i love meat loaf, i love his music, i love his acting career. but vh1 has let me as well as SEVERAL meat loaf fans down with this flop. first off, there are more albums then bat out of hell 1 and 2, which the movie seemed to have forgotten. and when an attempt was made to mention his dead ringer album in the studio, they got the lyrics wrong for peel out. their time line was way off, why was objects in the rearview mirror playing 13 years chronologically before it was actually released? vh1 took TOO many liberties in creating this movie and any redeemable moments were few and far between. i think that the actor playing meat loaf was a good actor, but come on, let's not slap a long haired wig on a big guy and call him meat loaf. meat loaf himself and his production company had nothing to do with this there are several inaccuracies and i dont think the creators of this c**p should have even touched the mother issue let alone interpret it the way they did. if you are a fleeting fan, go ahead, watch this movie. if you are a real fan then you will weep inconsolably.

Meat Loaf is by far the greatest rock star of the 1970s 80s 90s and beyond. This movie is based on his Autobiography of the same name. Although currently available on vhs format VH1 and Paramount Pictures are bound to give in to the demand for DVD format featuring all the promotional extras that went with it. This movie is good but as I stated in my headline summary it is mixed up in some parts. Certain people places and things did or did not happen. One piece of the book I wished they had filmed was Meat Loaf driving through Arizona to California during the mid to late 1960's and picks up a hippie drifter on the highway. It turns out in the book that Meat Loaf wound up giving a ride to Charles Manson. I don't know how fans of Meat Loaf would have taken it but it would have been one of those shock moments in Meat Loafs' life where everyone would have gone WHOOOOOAAAA dude that was unreal.

This is an enjoyable film for Meat Loaf fans. Song clips, in some cases entire songs are included from both Bat Out of Hell I & II as well as a film clip from Rocky Horror.

I was really surprised how accurate this movie is. Most biographical movies are time-warped (people and places out of place & time) but this one sticks to the truth in almost all cases.

If you enjoy Meat Loaf music, I recommend this movie. It will give you some interesting insights into some of the songs Jim Steinman wrote for him. If you want to know more about the man, I don't think you will find a more accurate portrayal anywhere. I also recommend you see the VH1 "Behind the Music" biography on Meat Loaf -- it lets his wife, children, Jim Steinman and others get their side in too.

When I saw the premiere of this movie, I didn't know who Meat Loaf was. But now I am a big fan. All of the actors looked like there real life counter-parts and where very good actors. I couldn't believe that the actor was lip-syncing some of the scenes. Believe me, the scenes that he did sing live sounded just like Meat Loaf. The only down side was that they had the character of Meat Loaf sing "Objects in the Rear View Mirror" 13 years before it came out. But if you brush that aside you really have an enjoyable movie on your hands.