Prey for Rock & Roll

PREY FOR ROCK AND ROLL (2003) *** Gina Gershon, Drea da Matteo, Lori Petty, Shelly Cole, Marc Blucas, Ivan Martin, Eddie Driscoll, Greg Rikaart, Sandra Seacat, Ashley Drane, Joannah Portman. Highly energetic and scrappy depiction of women in rock and roll and the dreams that always seem within grasp even if it takes decades to achieve. Gershon (she also co-executive produced and sings and performs all her own original songs to boot) is the lead singer (think the love child of Iggy Pop and Joan Jett) of a woman's rocking band attempting to score a recording contract to a ticket to the big time but the usual melodramas of bad choices in boyfriends, drugs and life in general delay them despite their game camaraderie and love for one another. The autobiographical screenplay by rocker Cheri Lovedog (and Robin Whitehouse) shows the warts and all look at a tough industry with some tough cookies clawing their way to gain some respect for their artistry (and from within). Petty gives her best performance since `Point Break' while da Matteo and Cole provide enough sugar and spice to mix things up believeably. Great soundtrack and again Gershon (who I love) clearly shows her blood, sweat and tears in this personal project with her trademark ballsy yet vulnerable and sexy-as-hell aplomb; she shoots and scores! (Dir: Alex Steyermark)

I really just liked this movie a whole lot. Sure the music wasn't the greatest but I am close to "40" and really can relate to these women. Must be my generation that went through Punk Rock, New Wave and Goth era that really got this movie. It just goes to show you you're never too old to dream and if your my age you're far from a poser instead we old folks deserve our respect for making a scene that people still try to emulate to this day. Have fun watch this movie and just be yourself. Thats what I got from it and I just really dig women with their style and panache. Always will and when you see someone that feels so strongly about their craft it makes it even better. This is far from just some average movie that glorifies the hardcore scene it makes it personal and non glamorous in a realistic way.

Glamorous… no way. The low-scale feature "Prey for Rock and Roll" is far from a sugar-coated rags-to-riches tale, but a scorching and soul-seeking drama (they might be making ends meat, but they enjoy and live for 'their' music than looking for fame… but they slog it out the hard and long way to finally see it that way) set in the hot and heavy punk rock scene captured in an almost imitate documentary style. It wasn't what I was expecting that's for sure, as the music is its core (with some good musical pieces by Gina… who did perform all of her own vocals and '6 minutes' was something special), but wrapped around it is a very conventional character formed, but strikingly biting story (based on rocker Cheri Lovedog's autobiographical) driven by its authentic grit and picture-perfect performances with excellent dynamics led by the outstandingly simmering Gina Gershon. She lives her character psychically, but also mentally through the highs and lows. Pouring out emotion (and there's a lot from anger to sorrow and pain that's effectively brought across), with roguishly pointed-tongue quips from an elastic script. Making up the rest of the chicks in her band is a rebelliously intoxicating Drea De Matteo, a sure-footed Lori Petty and a sassy doll-face Shelly Cole. In support are stable turns by Marc Blucas and Ivan Martin. Director Alex Steyermark instills a punching attitude and a genuine feel to his imagery with its all-too easy pace breezing by making the whole thing so engaging, even though it's a well-worn formula. The electrifying soundtrack to boot, pumps out the potent tunes and accordingly matches to the smothering atmosphere. You actually do feel like you're a passenger on the rock and roll ride. Enjoyable, but also confronting music/drama feature.

Prey for Rock and Roll is a great movie for anyone who likes to rock, especially women who have grown up admiring the likes of Joan Jett, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Lita Ford, Chrissie Hynde, or any women in the predominantly male music industry who have taken control of their music rather than allow themselves to be molded into the industry's "male fantasy" of a female musician. (Britney Spears, are you listening?) But it's not a movie only for women -- I saw PFRR with a guy, and he loved it. We are looking forward to the soundtrack coming out -- great music. Just to balance out my comments, my very small criticism is that once or twice (and only once or twice) a line sounded a little canned or flat, but I tend towards overanalyzing in that regard. (I won't say which lines so I don't give the movie away.) But overall the dialogue was great, very real, with a lot of humor also thrown in. The interactions between characters were great for building them up beyond 2-dimensions. (For example, Jackie's relationship with her mother made Jackie's character more interesting, Tracy's relationship with her boyfriend made her boyfriend more interesting -- a role that could have otherwise easily have been a caricature instead of a character. Ivan Martin was also great in the role.) I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone ready for a movie that balances the heavy (harsh aspects of life) with the light (finding the humor in life and following your dreams).

I was interested in this movie because of the "do your dreams have to die because you are over 40?" angle, but was completely blown away by the total quality of the movie. I'm not a huge rock fan so much (preferring jazz), but this movie made me a believer in the power of rock and I swear I am now going to regularly devour the entertainment listings in the "L.A. Weekly" with hopes of catching Cheri Lovedog (who wrote the autobiographical script) and I will be lining up at the Dragonfly or wherever with the rest of the explosive fans if she is still performing and I sure hope to God she is. Cheri--as you know better than most, dreams are eternal and age is a cipher. Maybe with this movie, you have made it like you deserve.

The music is hot and the women are even hotter--but there are no boundaries between the music and the women. Tender and tough all in the same package, those women are true stars. And these are no cookie-cutter characters, not by a long shot, and every single one of them is interesting to the max and were portrayed as not only very real, but people you have to care about despite how tough they come across--or maybe BECAUSE they are so tough, because no matter what life throws at them, they measure up to the challenge. They're fighters and survivors and I count that as an inspiring thing.

Probably my favorite character was "Faith," played by Lori Petty, although the entire cast was outstanding (and I have a tender place in my heart for Animal) but I have now firmly placed Gina Gershon at the head of the "sex is sex, I don't care which body parts you've got" list on which she was the charter member after her role in the movie "Bound". If I ever am asked why I won't explain whether I am gay or bi or whatever-the-hell, all I have to say is "Gina Gershon" and I hope that explains it all. This movie is the answer to so many questions I didn't even know I was asking. For those who love the power of music, for artists, for men and women, for the older and the younger, and for people everywhere just trying to love and to make it in life with as many pieces as possible, go see this film. I guess that includes everybody!