Roadie

Roadie is a pretty good movie that's only about so-so while you're watching it, however the movie really resonated with me in the days after watching it. I appreciated the effort to make Ron Eldard's character more then just a one dimensional lump of regret...i also like his constant flip flopping between "what have i got to be regretful of? i did what i wanted to!" and "i've totally wasted my life" throughout, as i think that's exactly what a guy in his situation in real life would think upon coming home after twenty five years on the road only to realize he's right back where he was when he first left. While the interactions between Ron Eldard and the rest of the cast kind of go back and fourth on the believable scale (Bobby Cannavale and Jill Hennessey are merely so-so as respectively a guy who used to taunt him in high school and his wife who was a long ago crush for Ron Eldard's character..it probably doesn't help that neither of these characters are likable in the least.) Its Ron Eldard himself who keeps this movie going forward...there are a lot of little moments throughout where his reaction to what's going on in front of him is perfect. Eldard really captures both the self-centeredness and the basic good heartedness of this guy...and while the director and the writer deserve all the credit for keeping this character from veering too far into either direction--it really falls to Eldard to keep him from appearing to be both a selfish jerk and a mopey sad sack punching bag for the rest of the clearly unhappy people in the film to abuse. It really is a good performance that makes the whole film really seem a lot better then it prob would be with somebody else in the lead. Again as a whole the film is only all right--but as a character study of this guy trying to figure out the rest of his life while burdened with guilt about how he led the majority of his life so far--it was quite well done.

Also as someone who lives here--i did love the full on location shooting that's happening here, while i could do without Jill Hennesey's condescending attitude towards "never leaving queens" i did love seeing certain locations on screen--enough to wanna shout "that's near my house" to anyone who was in the theater with me (of course seeing as how there were only about two other people there--i wisely did not.)

Is this movie a musical tribute to roadies who vicariously act out their rock-n-roll fantasies through the live performances of their employers or is it a musical rebuke of all forms of career mediocrity that settle for a greasy hamburger without even looking at the gourmet steak menu? For me, it was both.

Many scenes had the realistic look and feel of a low-budget documentary that exposes the dreary monotony of people talking a lot but saying very little. But other scenes played out more like attention-captivating music videos where the classic-rock song playing in the background was perfectly synchronized with the fleeting frames of film it was linked to in such a way as to reveal more in a few musical measures than even the most eloquently constructed lines of dialog could ever hope to express using the medium of the written-to-spoken word.

Thematic elements of Roadie dealt with connecting to people and places from one's past but despite being portrayed under the center-stage spotlight of honesty, these themes are never totally submerged in a bottomless pool of pessimism where hopelessness and despair become deadly poisons to those who dare to dream and dream to dare. Instead, I found a few rays of sunny optimism shining through the dark clouds of experiential adversity and disappointment as though to subtly suggest that just as wisdom is gained from taking an honest look at the many seeds of mistakes (erroneous judgment) sown in the gardens of the past so can wisdom be applied to improving the blossoming realization of the future by making better (wiser) choices in the decision-sprouting reality of the present moment!

Led Zeppelin said it better than I ever could in a line from the lyrics from their 1971 hit, Stairway to Heaven: "There's still time to change the road you're on."

Roadie (2011)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent character story of a man named Jimmy (Ron Eldard) who returns home to his mother (Lois Smith) after being fired as a roadie for Blue Oyster Cult. Even though Jimmy's only back home for one, day he strikes up a relationship with an old girlfriend (Jill Hennessy) and her husband (Bobby Cannavale) who used to pick on him back in high school. The story of a fired roadie should have made for a great movie and while there are hints of a strong story here the end result is pretty disappointing even with the great music and lead performance. The first thirty-minutes of this movie almost kills it before it can take off and I'm sure many people are going to reach this point and start to grab for the remote to turn it off but they should certainly stick with it because the film does get better during the final hour. These first thirty-minutes are rather shallow because we just see Jimmy on the phone leaving messages or cussing in front of a window with kids watching him. Once he gets home we start to see his relationship with him mother and I found this to be rather dull as well. The film finally kicks into high gear when Jimmy meets up with his ex and her husband. I thought some interesting ideas started to come out here including the lies that Jimmy is trying to give off about his life. At this point in the film you actually start to care about the guy and what's going to happen to him next. There are some very good moments between he and the husband but of course there's a downfall towards the end of film and it's quite powerful. Eldard certainly looks the part of a roadie and I thought he really did a fine job bringing this character to life even when the screenplay wasn't giving him much to work with. He certainly adds a lot of depth to the role. Both Hennessy and Cannavale are very good in their parts as is Smith, although I'd say the screenplay really doesn't spell her character out all that well. ROADIE contains some good rock tunes but there's no question that the screenplay needed a re-write. As it is, the film will appeal to fans of rock but it's doubtful to find a large audience.

I was really moved by this film , great performances from Lois Smith and Ron Eldard - like the previous reviewer wrote there is great chemistry between them and none of the performances are hackneyed or overworked , its a perfectly practical plot and it allows for the cast to put in some shining examples - the motel scene is particularly effective, as are the kitchen scenes with the Lois Smith doing some excellent pottering ! Don't know why the the reviews haven't been more glowing for this its a little gem of a film , one for reflection and not gushy or sentimental its pitch perfect , great soundtrack too even though there's no 'Reaper from the blue oyster cult

I heartily recommend you watch this with a hangover and you phone your parents and tell them how great they are!

I watched this movie for two reasons. First, I am a huge fan of Blue Oyster Cult. Been listening to BOC since 1973 and have seen them about 60 times in concert. Second, I worked as a sound engineer, stage manager, production assistant and local crew stagehand at thousands of shows in Arizona. Though I only did a few "road" gigs and most of what I did was local work, I have many "roadie" friends that have been around the world with some pretty big named bands. So my love for BOC and my time spent working in the business is what drew me to this movie. While the story is a bit slow, I still liked it and could relate to many of the scenes. I remember going back to my old high school bedroom at my parent's house after moving away. It was pretty surreal just like in the movie when Jimmy comes home, puts on an old Robin Trower record and lays in his bed surrounded by posters of his rock heroes from the days of his youth and sings along at the top of his lungs. I can also relate to bumping into old friends after I had moved away and some of the dialog and reminiscing that takes place. Of course, I loved the soundtrack! Not many movies feature Buck's Boogie, Last Days Of May, See You in Black, Cities on Flames and The Red and The Black! Plus some Trower, Tull and of course Jackson Browne's tribute to roadies, The Load Out! One of my favorite parts is when they are in the bar and Jimmy is trying to describe BOC's music. Something that many have tried to do for years now and failed. Jimmy says "The Thinking Man's Metal" "That's how the critic's described them" and to me that best sums it up. Jimmy and Nicky are in the bar and Cities On Flame is playing on the juke box. Nicky says he never got BOC and Jimmy attempts to explain how good they were to him. The script goes something like this: "And the drumming, it would get all jazzy, but underneath all those f#@%ing heavy riffs!

I mean Buck Dharma, his solo on Dominance and Submission is without question the BEST hard rock guitar solo of the era, hands down! It sums up everything that came before it. I mean Hendrix, Zeppelin, Townshend. Dharma, he takes a little bit from all of them and mashes it all together into one f#@%in' brilliant solo that says, THIS! THIS is what it's all about! It was like science fiction poetry on a turntable. All these weird worlds. They were just so much smarter than everything else that was around. Naw man, BOC, they were better. And they should have been even bigger!" For me the movie was just what I expected, no blockbuster, no action packed car chases, just a movie about coming home to your roots to see your aging mom, your rusted out old car, your old neighborhood, some old high school friends and the collection of vinyl and rock posters in your bedroom that would allow you to escape reality for just a little while.