Review: Roadie follows a longtime roadie (Jimmy) for the legendary rock band Blue Oyster Cult who is fired and is forced to return home to his elderly mother. Shortly after arriving he runs into 2 old friends (Randy & Nikki) who quickly show him that somethings never change.While also having to cope with his past and the uncertain future he has ahead of him.
At first when I heard about this film the first thing that came to mind was, hopefully they didn't remake the 1980 comedy film starring Meatloaf called Roadie. Luckily they didn't! Instead what I got was a pretty good drama about a man coming to terms with himself and life. There is alot more depth to the film than most would believe, especially compared to other films that try to do the same thing but fail at it. The best film I could compare Roadie to is "The Wrestler", mainly because they both profile a man who has to come to terms with reality after flying high in their former successful careers. What really made each of the 2 films mentioned something worth watching was the awesome cast.
In the case of Roadie you get a phenomenal cast of characters that may be made of only a few people , but easily rivals even the biggest star studded cast. Ron Eldard who I normally see in a supporting role takes the reigns as Jimmy and does a flawless job of taking the character through a rollercoaster of emotions. Along the side of him is Lois Smith who plays his mother and the pair work off one another spectacularly. The other 2 main actors are Jill Hennessy who I am familiar with from Crossing Jordan plays Jimmy's ex and old friend who is a small time musician who married Jimmy's longtime nemesis. Jimmy's nemesis Randy is played by Bobby Cannavale who I have seen in films before.
Besides Jimmy my other favorite character is his mother's neighbor/friend Don Muller who has had 2 strokes, but seems to help lighten up a scene no matter what is going on. One thing I have to mention that was very cool about this film aside from the cast was the awesome soundtrack of Blue Oyster Cult track, all of which are their not so well know hits. Overall this is a pretty good and very cool film that drama fans and music fans with equally enjoy.
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Michael Cuesta
Genre: Drama
Blu-ray Release Year: 2012
Theatrical Release Year: 2012
Time Length: 96 mins.
Company: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Website:
www.magpictures.com
