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BACKSTAGE BABES AREA |
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FILM REVIEWS |
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(All films listed in order of the year made) Best Movies ....... Stardust (1975)
Notorious for
featuring a scene in an Italian castle when the pet dog is fed LSD,
1970s pop idol David Essex plays Jim McLaine, a young man whose
dreams of music stardom come true, only to totally lose control and
waste his talents away to self-destruction. There are appearances
from various 70s stars, including Adam Faith as the road manager, The
Who's original hellraising drummer Keith Moon is one of the band
members and Larry Hagman (villain J.R. in Dallas) plays a
bossy American manager. This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Cult spoof rock
documentary following an ageing British rock band's experiences on a
dodgy US tour. It's very funny, probably because the band are so
hilariously crap! There are the petty fall-outs, band members'
genuine stupidity, hideous hair styles and even worse stage outfits
(i.e. a lot of what really goes on). This movie is an absolute 'must
have' amongst video collections on bands' tour buses. Sid and Nancy (1986)
The Sex Pistols
themselves admitted to hating this biopic of their drug-crazed
bassist and his girlfriend, the notorious New Your punk groupie Nancy
Spungen but the film is a good account of what really happened and
Gary Oldman is brilliant as Sid Vicious. Rumour has it, that he
suffered malnutrition while preparing for the role, as he had to look
ill! Sid died from a heroin overdose while awaiting trial for Nancy's
murder. Courtney Love desperately wanted to play Nancy and auditioned
for the part but lost out to Chloe Webb. She still appears in the
film as one of Nancy's drugged-out friends. Waynes World (1992) Waynes World 2 (1993)
This was Mike
Myers' biggest success before he created Austin Powers. Wayne's World
started out as a comedy sketch on US show Saturday Night Live
about two dorky heavy metal fans who run a cable TV show from their
basement. The first film was a box office hit and features an
hilarious scene when Wayne and his friend Garth meet Alice Cooper
backstage at a concert. Meat Loaf makes an appearance as a bouncer
and former 80s Brat Pack star Rob Lowe stars as a dodgy businessman
out to steal Wayne's TV show idea and his rock chick girlfriend
Cassandra (Tia Carrere). The sequel was an even bigger success, the
story being more outrageous, when Wayne is 'visited' by Jim Morrison
in a dream and told to put on a rock concert in his home town. Ralph
Brown, best known as dopehead Danny in Withnail and I, plays
Del Preston 'the greatest roadie who ever lived'. Christopher Walken
stars as a sly record producer trying to help Cassandra get a record
deal and Kim Basinger, Heather Locklear and Aerosmith all appear.
Blink and you'll miss them but Pearl Jam and Van Halen are seen
arriving in limos at the rock concert at the end.
Crazy comedy
featuring Steve Buscemi, Brendan Fraser and Adam Sandler as a metal
band so determined to get success, that they break into a rock radio
station's headquarters and hold the staff hostage until their demo
tape is played! '80s bratpack star Judd Nelson makes an appearance as
a record label boss. Velvet Goldmine (1997)
A story loosely
based on David Bowie about the 1970s glam rock era. It follows the
rise and fall of a fictitious glam star called Brian Slade, played by
Irish actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Ewan McGregor plays an Iggy Pop
type of character called Kurt Wilde and flashes his private parts
during an outrageous stage act and there's quite a bit of nudity and
bad behaviour. The costumes are fabulous - if you think that seeing
Ewan and Jonathan wearing eyeliner and glittery catsuits is funny,
then you'll love it! All four member of Placebo appear as band
members and so does Anthony Langdon from Spacehog. Michael Stipe from
REM was one of the film's producers and Muriel's Wedding star
Toni Collette plays Brian Slade's wife. Stir Crazy (1998)
British film about
how the ex-girlfriend of a mysteriously disappeared guitarist from a
band, called Strange Fruit, attempts to get the band back together
after a 20 year absence. There is plenty of nostalgia, lead singer
arrogance and very funny moments, as the remaining band members try
and make their difficult comeback, while still wondering what
happened to their friend who went AWOL with rock star insanity many
years before. Stephen Rea from The Crying Game plays the
keyboard player. Almost Famous (2000)
A touching story
set in 1973 about a fifteen-year-old inspiring music journalist who
manages to blag his way into doing a piece for Rolling Stone
magazine and ends up travelling on tour with the up-and-coming band
Stillwater, who he's been assigned to interview. Goldie Hawn's
daughter, Kate Hudson (and wife of Chris Robinson of the Black
Crowes), plays a groupie, or 'band aid' known as Penny Lane who's in
love with Stillwater's singer Russell. Fairuza Balk from The Craft
and The Piano star Anna Paquin also star as Penny's friends.
The story is actually based on the experiences of a real groupie who
called herself Penny Lane.
Gene Simmons from
Kiss has a cameo role playing a record producer in this sensitive
rock 'n' roll drama following the fortunes of an aspiring band aiming
for the big time. Rock Star (2001)
Based on the
real-life happenings of rock band Judas Priest. Mark Wahlberg stars
as a member of a tribute band who successfully replaces the lead
singer of the famous band he admires. There are brilliant scenes of
the usual debauched antics, sex, sleaze and wild stage performances.
Jennifer Anniston plays the suffering girlfriend and Timothy
Olyphant, (the killer from Scream 2) is one of the tribute
band members. Plus there are cameos from Zack Wylde and Stephan
Jenkins from Third Eye Blind. Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon play old friends who meet up in the present day, having met years before during their wild days as rock star groupies. A fun comedy - definitely recommended to view on a girls' night in! |
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