Wednesday, July 16, 2014

VINYL: THE REAL ROCK AND ROLL SWINDLE

One thing you have to give credit to when it comes to punk rock fans. They are truly die hard fans in every sense of the word. To this day there fans of the genre continue to listen to their heroes while embracing new acts that continue in the tradition. At the same time marketing executives pay more attention to polls and profits and those old bands don't get the same respect they once did. VINYL, just out from Shout Factory, presents that to the extreme.

Based on a true story VINYL tells the tale of Johnny Jones (Phil Daniels), the lead singer/guitarist of the non defunct punk band called Weapons of Happiness. One of the biggest and best in their heyday the group disbanded for reasons unknown years ago. Now Jones lives with his wife in a trailer dreaming of the good old days. When a common friend passes away, the band comes together for the first time at the funeral.

The members have taken different paths since their split. Only Robbie (Perry Benson) seems to have become a success now owning several retirement homes. They all raise a glass to their fallen comrade...several glasses actually...until they're rip roaring drunk and retire to Robbie's new home. Together in his music room they each pick up the instruments they once played and jam together creating a new song which Robbie records on his laptop. The next morning when they wake they hear it playing, think it's a great song and wonder who it is. When Robbie tells them it's them, Johnny thinks they have a chance to reclaim once lost glory.

Taking the demo to the old company they once recorded for Johnny meets with a young exec who talks about how his dad listened to their music. He refuses to listen to the disc though. Why? Because the group is now a bunch of old guys and the buying public is only interested in young groups.

Incensed by this attitude Johnny decides to beat them at their own game. Getting the rest of the band on board, he comes up with the greatest rock and roll swindle of all time. The band will recruit a group of young people with no talent to lip synch their song in a music video they will make. They'll then pass that along to the recording company and when a live gig is announced, they'll step out and take credit for the hit and show the record company to be the soulless money grabbers they are.

The band sets out and does just that. They find the right kids for the group and bring them together, teaching them enough about the instruments they have to fake to get by. They figure out just what clothes they should wear, how they should look, shoot the video and pass it along to stations everywhere. Soon the song is the hit they predicted as is the band. The recording company comes calling. But all does not go according to plan.

Based on the true life tale of Mike Peters, the driving force behind the band The Alarm, this is an interesting and entertaining film that holds you from start to finish. Peters actually did what we see here in the film which makes it just that much more entertaining. It certainly shines a light on the youth oriented recording industry that took from so many bands when they were young only to ignore them when they attempted to return to their rock roots.

Everyone in the film does a fantastic job without a false note in their performances as old time rockers and new kids on the block. Whether it's portraying a rocker with a long festering grudge or a youngster with stars in their eyes, all of the actors involved make this a believable tale. Since his role is center stage actor Phil Daniels perhaps deserve extra notice as Johnny. Not only does he carry the weight of making the film seem real, his character is one that wants to grasp that golden goose of fame once more living the dream of a rock star while at the same time trying to roll with the fact that he's not the kid he once was and has responsibilities that he might not realize until too late.

The music, something that has to come across as real for the movie to be taken seriously, does a fine job of capturing the music of the time. What's interesting to note is the change most of us take with punk music. At one time it might have seemed like just a bunch of chords smashed onto a guitar with no sense at all. Now punk music is much more accepted to the point where perhaps those who started the genre, if doing so today, would have been forced to come up with something else more anti-acceptable.

The movie is a fun film that touches at times, makes you laugh at times and in general provides a great entertainment value while telling a story of growing up, both for the young and old in the story. It's a movie that can be watched more than once and enjoyed each time. I can only assume it didn't play wider in theaters because the names involved weren't the big box office stars people flock to. Don't let that deter you from watching a movie that is worth watching.

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