Very similar to Quadrophenia (which I coincidentally saw right before this), but with a not quite so angry a tone. David Essex (of "Rock On" fame) plays Jimmy, a rather lost young man who has a dream of being a rock star in late 1950's Britain. He drops out of school to realize his dream, but finds out it's not nearly
as simple as he anticipated. Ringo Starr -- yes, THAT Ringo -- has a nice role as Mike, Jimmy's carnival worker friend. He has a funny scene regarding a tattoo in a rather private place. Essex does a pretty good job in this film, although you don't find yourself really rooting for his success because he does a few things that make you want to punch him. The soundtrack is outstanding -- every great 50's hit you ever heard on those Time-Life CD commercials is here. Plus you get a taste of Keith Moon's drumwork. He plays the drummer -- yeah, I know, quite a stretch -- in a band called Stormy Tempest, who's lead singer is early Brit rocker Billy Fury. All in all, worth a nostalgic look. I'm told there's a sequel, called Stardust.
July 7, 2007
