Monday, May 9, 2016

CBGB (2013)

Director: Randall Miller

Writers: Jody Savin, Randall Miller

Starring: Alan Rickman, Malin Akerman, Justin Bartha, Richard de Klerk, Johnny Galecki, Kyle Gallner, Ashley Greene, Rupert Grint, Estelle Harris, Taylor Hawkins, Ryan Hurst, Stana Katic, Joel David Moore

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  50,000 bands and 1 disgusting bathroom.

Plot: A look at the New York City punk-rock scene and the venerable nightclub, CBGB.



My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I've always heard of the club CBGB but I never knew much about it.  This picture does a good job at showing you how it all began, the people involved and some of the antics that went on.  Rickman plays Hilly, the man who made it all happen.  He's in very laid back mode, something he was so good at.   The music's good, of course.  It's interesting but it's also trying to do the difficult task of condensing years into minutes.  I would rather have watched a documentary, frankly.  This picture felt like it was missing something.  To offset the dour Hilly, comic book panels sprinkle the film with humor and names of the bands and members.  It sometimes works but it's also somewhat at odds with the rest of the picture.  A really good doc would give you the same info and so much more. 

No comments:

Post a Comment