There's nothing like watching a guy hit rock bottom and then try to crawl back up again. Or as that heartless record industry weasel puts it, 'People love a good tragedy.' Especially one set to a good beat.
It's All Gone Pete Tong (2005)
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:14
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Part raucous mockumentary, part drama-filled biopic, It's All Gone Pete Tong amuses and warms hearts with its touching, comic, and candid look at a musician faced with a career-ending handicap.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive drug and alcohol abuse, language and some sexual content/nudity.
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Apr 15, 2005 Limited
Synopsis: Shot in a mocumentary style reminiscent of THIS IS SPINAL TAP, director Michael Dowse's IT'S ALL GONE PETE TONG is a funny, touching tale of a DJ who loses his hearing. The title refers to a hugely... Shot in a mocumentary style reminiscent of THIS IS SPINAL TAP, director Michael Dowse's IT'S ALL GONE PETE TONG is a funny, touching tale of a DJ who loses his hearing. The title refers to a hugely popular DJ from the UK, who briefly features in the film, and also fulfills the role of executive producer. "It's all gone Pete Tong" derives from Cockney rhyming slang--a popular UK method for inventing phrases by finding unusual words that rhyme--and when used, means that "it's all gone wrong." Frankie Wilde (Paul Kaye) is the hearing-impaired DJ who delights the clubbers on the island of Ibiza by coupling his larger-than-life drug and alcohol-fueled persona with undeniable skills behind the turntables. But as Frankie's hearing rapidly disintegrates, and his former manager, wife, friends, and record label slowly fade away, the distraught DJ plunges into the depths of despair. After Frankie hits rock bottom, Dowse steers his film into calmer waters, with the fallen star kicking the drugs, and concentrating on rehabilitation. While the events unfold around the fictional character of Frankie, many real-life DJ's appear in the film, giving it a comedic edge as luminaries such as Carl Cox, Tiesto, Paul Van Dyke, Lol Hammond, and others muse on Frankie's rise and fall in the cutthroat world of dance music. But it's Paul Kaye's performance that really gives the film its heart and soul. Infusing his character with a passionate likeability that shines through even when Frankie's behavior plummets to new lows, Kaye conjures up just the right amount of pathos to stop the film from teetering over into corny sentimentalism, making his portrayal a supremely convincing depiction of a star caught in the terrifying throes of a career-ending condition. [More]
Starring: Paul Kaye, Kate Magowan, Beatrice Batarda, Mike Wilmot
Starring: Paul Kaye, Kate Magowan, Beatrice Batarda, Mike Wilmot, Dave Lawrence, Carl Cox, Tiesto, Paul Van Dyke, Lol Hammond
Director: Michael Dowse
Director: Michael Dowse
Screenwriter: Michael Dowse
Producer: Allan Niblo
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Reviews for It's All Gone Pete Tong
You may ... find the picture as undisciplined as Frankie's wild coif. I see the chaos, like the coif, to be tangled but pointed, an endearingly calculated mess.
The formula doesn't entirely stick, but Dowse's visual veracity towers over any narrative shortcomings Tong presents.
This is biopic as raving rumination. But it is also a surprisingly compassionate redemption story.
The movie works because of its heedless comic intensity; Kaye and his writer-director, Michael Dowse, chronicle the rise and fall of Frankie Wilde as other directors have dealt with emperors and kings.
Just inspiring enough, just scary enough, just sappy enough and just funny enough to get by.
You'll be tickled by this small indie laugher. But, lo and behold, you may find yourself touched by it, too.
Less a faux documentary than a perversely amusing stab at the music world's harsh realities.
While most mockumentaries translate as lazy storytelling, this one is elevated by an astounding, Oscar-worthy performance by Kaye.
The film cannot be said to be a success as an aesthetic whole, but the power of the first half and the exceptionally believable acting of Kaye make this the kind of experience that only film can provide.
The mockumentary-style delivery of a serious subject proves to be an unworkable mash-up.
Grounded by a gutsy, over-the-edge-and-back performance by Paul Kaye as Frankie, It's All Gone Pete Tong takes the long way around before finally redeeming itself.
Writer-director Michael Dowse's film whizzes all over the place like a gaudy kite.
Has the same propulsive, punk-rock vibe as Trainspotting and 24 Hour Party People.
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