The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico

I had high hopes for this one going in but soon became disappointed, then bored, then disaffected--frankly, couldn't finish it. The faux rockumentary premise sounded promising ('Spinal Tap' was a hoot) but despite a few mildly amusing lines, gags, and pratfalls this film mostly recycles clichés about how dissipated and reckless rock musicians can be (yawn). Yes, it's good-natured in a goofy sort of way. Still, I couldn't help but feel that my intelligence was being insulted with simplistic, unoriginal, and very predictable material about a fictional Guy who was inherently uninteresting. Granted, comedy is the hardest thing to do but when it's bad, it's really bad.

"The life and hard times of Guy Terrifico" is the funniest film I've seen all year. I checked it out at Austin's South by Southwest film fest and have been laughing ever since. This crazy little Canadian film is about a mad man country rock star in the 1970's who disappears at the height of his career. 30 years later, an album of duets called "Retribution Honkytonkus" is apparently about to be released with new Guy Terrifico recordings so this documentary crew interviews all his old buddies to see if they think he is alive or not. Did he die or didn't he? I won't spoil the ending but you won't be disappointed. I would describe this film as "This is Spinal Tap" in the country music world. It features Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Phil Kaufman, Levon Helm & Ronnie Hawkins along for the ride. Lots of funny moments but "Hump the Drum" is my favorite. GUY ROCKS!

I just finished watching this "honky-tonkumentary" and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is compelling, it is funny, it has surprisingly good music, but most of all, it is thoroughly believable. The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico has a feeling of authenticity about it that few mockumentaries can match. The acting is superb. Best of all are the interviews about Guy Terrifico with real stars (Ronnie Hawkins, Merle Haggard, Chris Kristofferson, etc.). They come across sounding so impromptu, that I wonder whether they were scripted or in fact improvised? Actually, I found myself wondering the same thing often throughout the movie. Nothing seems put on or forced. When Guy and the band are writing their music, it really seems that the actors are playing and singing the songs for the first time. And as much as I generally dislike country, the soundtrack was amazing - definitely worth buying. Most of the humour in the film comes from the outrageous way it caricatures the lives of 1970's rockstars: it's so outrageous it's believable; it's so believable, it's funny. There is so much to recommend about this film that I can't imagine anyone disliking it.

Not only was this funny along the lines of "Spinal Tap", but really was the most true-to-life mockumentary I've seen. I had never heard of it, but rented it on an impulse because Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard were in on the joke. This film takes place in the early 1970s. I was just dating my husband (guitar player) at this time and we were entrenched in the music scene of L.A. at a certain level that included hanging at The Corral in Topanga Canyon, going to the Topanga Canyon Banjo & Fiddle Contest every year, and our good friend Artie was in the house band at The Palomino in the San Fernando Valley. Clarence White and Gram Parsons had just left the Byrds and were playing around town. We went to the Troubador to see Waylon Jennings, where we got a great show, culminating in Waylon falling over backwards off of his stool at the end of a tune. The Eagles, who were just Linda Rondstadt's back-up band then, used to hang out at the bar at the Troubador. I have to say that this film is the most real film I've seen of those days, mostly because of the set designer and the clothing designer. Everything in this film is so on-the-money as to be almost real...unlike "Spinal Tap" which was much more tongue-in-cheek and over-the-top. I recommend this film highly for anyone who wants to know what it was really like in those days. Our friend Bob went to the Troubador one night a little early for the show to see Kris Kristofferson and went upstairs and saw Kris there. Bob kept going on about this new songwriter, knowing that Kris had everything to do with bringing him to the limelight, and couldn't say enough about John Prine. He ended up singing "The Late John Garfield Blues" with Kris Kristofferson upstairs at the Troubador before the show. When it was over and he was heading downstairs he heard Kris say to someone..."Who was that big guy in the tennis shoes?" Ah yes, those were the days. This is a brilliant film, in my humble opinion. It captured everything about those days. Well done!

This is a very funny film and I highly recommend it. It's beautifully written and the actors are priceless. It's a pleasure to see an independent film of such high quality. If you're like me, and never much cared for country music, you'll still love this film because it contains the key elements of a good story that everyone can relate to and can appreciate. Oh, and did I mention that it's stinking funny?

This was a feature pick at the Toronto International Film Festival for a good reason. The original music, the characters and love that the writer had for his material makes this a classic must see mockumentary that rivals Spinal Tap.