Roadie

You don't know me (most likely). But this guy Jimmy (Ron Eldard, in an affectingly understated performance) in "Roadie" is me. Not in every aspect of his life, certainly. But in essence.

Jimmy cherishes, and largely lives in, the past. It is an intimate history, though fraught with it's share of painful memories, that inspires intensely felt emotions of a carefree youth. And much of this joy is generated by a deep, abiding love of an intoxicating (both viscerally and literally) siren sound. It is the powerful, so often times overpowering, beautiful noise of Rock 'n Roll. It permeates not just the atmosphere, but also the soul, with it's rapturous allure.

The only problem is, ya gotta grow up. Or not. Jimmy has decided to pursue a path based on the latter. His is a personal resolution which has perpetuated an adolescent sensibility well into his '40's. And now maturation and responsibility may finally not be just be knocking on his door. They're kicking the son-of-a-bitch down.

Some of what we get with "Roadie" may be considered overly small, petty and sophomoric against the backdrop of this mostly serious character study. The grown-up and now married to each other versions of the principal high school bullies and belittlers who tormented a teenage Jimmy played by Bobby Cannavale and Jill Hennessy comprise the collective case in point. They serve their purpose in terms of the "you can leave high school, but high school never leaves you" plot device. But perhaps that function is a bit overserved here.

In the end, "Roadie" leaves us with the sense that maybe you can go home after all. And loved ones may actually be damn proud of you and what you've done with your life. Even if such sentiment is never expressly spoken.

And, ultimately, we witness touching confirmation that a son always loves his Mother. And vice versa.

Always.

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.

IMDb currently has this movie top listed as "Comedy". That plus its eponymous association with the 1980 B-movie classic "Roadie" starring Meat Loaf, not to mention this movie's deceptive DVD tagline ("Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll. It was fun while it lasted") might lead you to expect... I dunno... a comedy?

It's not. If we're ok with that, then let's move on to what this movie really is.

"Roadie" (2011) is a brutally honest, sometimes bizarre but mostly lucid look at returning to an ordinary life after living on the road for 20 years. The movie doesn't focus on the rockstar life (and in fact the only references we get are a few hazy flashbacks in the beginning) but instead plants us squarely in the real world, Queens NY to be exact, where our protagonist Jimmy is forced to confront reality for perhaps the first time in his life.

The entire story occupies the space of about 24 hours from Jimmy's arrival at his estranged mother's house to his chance encounter with the old high school douchebag who coincidentally married Jimmy's high school sweetheart. The high school sweetheart herself is an amateur musician, and this (plus Jimmy's refusal to accept his failure in life) leads him to claim he's the manager for Blue Oyster Cult. The plot certainly sounds like it could be a raucous rib tickler, but the material is played straight, dramatic rather than farcical, even a bit on the disturbing/dark side.

This came as a big surprise, but once I realized how well everything was presented--the excellent and I mean EXCELLENT acting by all 3 leads plus the mother, the appropriate pace giving things time to breathe, the subtle brooding vibe of cinematography, and of course the great script with believable dialogue--I was sucked in and riveted until the very end.

This film has a slow, careful buildup to an explosive climactic scene and a thoughtful aftermath which will stick in your mind for a long time. The main question being: Whose reality is more valid, those who accept their mediocrity but hang on to dreams of a better future, or those who fall from success but hang onto dreams/fantasies of their past? If that last sentence didn't make a lotta sense, just watch the movie and you'll see what I mean.

"Roadie" has a distinctly indie vibe (as much as I hate to use that term) which means it's not glossy, snappy paced and glamorous like most Hollywood blockbusters. The style reminded me of some of Vincent Gallo's work ("Buffalo 66", "The Brown Bunny") in the same way Gallo weaves a surreal story within the confines of a very real world. If you're not familiar with Gallo, think of maybe "Leaving Las Vegas" where the main character comes from a questionable past and refuses to accept a new future.

Again, this is NOT a rock 'n' roll movie, though it does have some great classic rock tunes on the soundtrack (Blue Oyster Cult, Robin Trower, Jethro Tull, The Ramones). So don't expect Spinal Tap! "Roadie" might be closer to the excellent washed-up-musician flicks "Crazy Heart" or "Searching for an Echo".

Jimmy was a roadie for Blue Oyster Cult all his adult life who has - painfully and wrongfully according to him - been fired by the band and left by them somewhere in the wilds of Michigan. With nowhere else to go, he makes his way back home to Queens where he has not been since his father's death many, many years before. He has barely spoken with his mother in the interim and now he overstates his role with the band to her - manager, writer, producer, etc. He tries to collect himself to deal with this massive setback, but he is not making the situation any better with angry calls to the band's actual manager.

I think that roadie is one of the coolest jobs in the world next to rock star and Jimmy does as well. I, too, would have major problems dealing with his rude awakening after so many years and the loss of his livelihood and dream.

Out for some butter for his Mom's famous tuna melts, Jimmy runs into a high school classmate who is and was quite a butt-head who is now married to Jimmy's first love, Nikki. Jimmy and Nikki wind up back in his boyhood room which is untouched by time and looks like a "rock and roll museum" according to Nikki.

Out of his vinyl record collection, Nikki pulls out Ratcity In Blue by, local 70s favorites, the Good Rats and they listen to a couple of tracks. This brings back memories of seeing the band every Saturday night with their friend Steph - who passed away unbeknownst to Jimmy.

This movie is about real people, with lots of issues, who love music and are dealing with some very real problems. If you enjoy music, have been on the road with a band or thought about doing so (one of my life's regrets is turning down an offer to be a roadie) you will really like this movie.

Full disclosure - I also own this "original" album with the cool pizza sleeve art, am a huge Good Rats fan and may have seen Steph, Nikki and Jimmy at one of those Saturday night shows back in the day. My heartfelt thanks go to Gerald and Michael Cuesta for a wonderful film and soundtrack including these New York music legends and a great version of Jackson Browne's Stay by Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows. Did they misspell "Peppi" Marchello in the closing thanks to him?

I must confess up to the point of actually watching the Roadie, I had no idea what a roadie was or did. This is not my usual type of movie, however we should strive to challenge and expose ourselves to different movies. Just as you would a different language or cultural in order to grow and mature as an all around individual. The movie was interesting and I thought the plot, made a point in trying to relate to the viewer the regret of decisions that we make as youth, that do not pan out or other wise never manifest themselves. The characters were very likable and came across genuine and authentic in the Roadie, which must be stressed is a very necessary thing in a film like this. There was a feel that that the movies' main character could have been anyone of us: in regards to decision or choices that were made in our lives that never quite pan out. Perhaps you could take it a bit further and say that everyone in there life at least once or twice has not let go of an idea or notion until: well it was to late. Atlas, I would be remiss, if I did not mention that the sound track for the Roadie is excellent.