Too much of everything

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Ron Eldard stars in this terrific character study about a middle-aged roadie who is recently fired from his job working with the has-been band "The Blue Oyster Cult", and so returns to his home town and hangs out at his mom's place, and with some old friends- Bobby Cannavale and Jill Hennessy. Eldard is great in the titular role playing a character not unlike most of us, who wanted to achieve great things in life but had to settle (like most of us do) for second best, sorta living out his fantasies through his next chain of command. I thought it was interesting they chose an actual real band for him to work for (even though we never see them in the film), and they say in the movie he started working for them twenty years ago-?? -so they were already a "has-been" group when he started with them-?? LOL And *possible SPOILER*- for those who have already seen this-->> did you guess that he was making it all up about him managing and writing songs for them-?? I pretty much did, and thought that was actually a great added touch for the character-?? -really made him more pathetic, but at the same time made you empathize with him to a greater degree-?? Well, I really enjoyed this piece- good performances all around, good music, good dialogue, etc..- now streaming on Showtime!

OK the good news is as there are only 12 reviews on this film so there is a chance someone will actually read mine, woohoo. The bad news is I'm not sure many people will watch the film, especially to the end and be bothered to come here. For a start I doubt if anyone under the age of 30 could understand the situation the lead finds himself in, let alone sympathise with him. For a second not a lot happens. The film seems like a play, scenes in the house and the bar with 2 or 3 people talking take up a large part of the footage, feelings and emotions are aired but there is no moving on or culmination, let alone redemption. The movie only steps up a gear in the motel but then you are left frustrated and more disheartened with the characters. The film has a downbeat, melancholic feel and lacks complexity, there are no surprises. The characters enter the film with nothing and leave with less. I watched it for the culture links and the expectation of the big man returns to small town play out but it never really happened. Fine acting, interesting concept but failed to catch fire.

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 really enjoyed the new movie Roadie starring Ron Eldard. Ron plays a roadie for Blue Oyster Cult who gets the ax after 25 years and has to return to his old life in a small town.He really knows no other way of life outside of rock and roll and finds it really hard to adjust. He doesn't even know how to make coffee. He has to get reacquainted with his mother who is bordering on dementia, his old girlfriend who is now a local singer and her husband the guy who bullied him in high school. The film is very good and very sad. The acting is great. Ron is perfect for the role of a burnt out roadie. And Lois Smith as his mom is always excellent. What I really loved about the movie was the great Blue Oyster Cult music in the soundtrack and not just the typical BOC you hear on the radio. There are some really classic Blue Oyster Cult tunes in the movie and lots of guitar genius by Buck Dharma. True BOC fans will love this, but you don't have to be one to enjoy this film.