Not Coming to a Theater Near You
What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
Roadie is the story of Travis Redfish, “the world’s greatest roadie,” and his misadventures following sixteen-year-old aspiring groupie Lola across the country. Stylistically the film is somewhere between the free-for-all comedies of the seventies and the cookie-cutter formulas of the eighties; occasionally flirting with transgression but always returning to rather forced scenes of emotional resolution. Meat Loaf turns in a likable performance as the slow but earnest Redfish, proving himself to be the capable actor most didn’t realize he could be until Fight Club and making the film watchable despite running about thirty minutes longer than it should. It is easy to see that Meat Loaf is trying hard to make the film a success; it was filmed during a low point in his musical career when he had completely lost his singing voice and was unsure it would ever return.
The film’s main appeal now is the same as it was when it was originally released: a odd collection of popular musical acts. Roy Orbison, Hank Williams, Jr., Asleep at the Wheel, Alice Cooper, and Blondie all perform, with the latter two acts having substantially larger non-musical roles. Blondie steals the film completely away from Meat Loaf and company and are easily the most memorable thing about Roadie. Firstly, they deliver an excellent cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” the best performance in the film and the only song shown in its entirety. Secondly – and far more importantly – Blondie gets into a fight with an all-midget band named Snow White. Nothing in Roadie, including a bizarre ending involving aliens, surpasses seeing Blondie fight a group of midgets.
by David Carter | Source: MGM DVD
21 Dec 2008 7:15 PM | Submit Comment
