Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back

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User Ratings: 74

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Movie Info

Dallas-born Marvin Lee Aday, considerably overweight even as a young boy and nicknamed Meat Loaf (played by look-alike W. Earl Brown), overcomes the negative admonishments of his alcoholic father and his obesity to become one of the best-selling rock singers of the late '70s and early '90s. His first roles as an actor lead to meeting songwriter Jim Steinman (Zachary Throne), who has the wild idea that the Top 40 radio market needs an oversized operatic tenor to sing gothic love songs. It turns out Steinman is right, and the album Bat out of Hell yields three Top Ten hits, catapulting them both into arena rock stardom. Physical and emotional difficulties take their toll on Meat, and he loses everything except his loyal wife, Leslie (Dedee Pfeiffer). Meat and Steinman gradually dig themselves out of their hole and return to glory with Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, which sells five million copies, but only after Meat reconciles with his aging father.

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Drama, Television
Directed By:

Jim McBride
Written By:

Ron McGee
On Disc/Streaming:

Aug 7, 2001
Runtime:

90 minutes

Cast

W. Earl Brown
as Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf
as Vocals

Dedee Pfeiffer
as Lesley

Kim Robillard
as Wes

Tom Wood
as Kevin

Lisa Jane Persky
as Wilma

Zachary Throne
as Jim Steinman

Jesse Lenat
as Todd Rundgren

Tim Kelleher
as David

John Kai Jacobsen
as Young Marvin Lee `Meat Loaf' Aday

Sandra Purpuro
as Karla DeVito

Bess Meyer
as Erin

Bruce Bohne
as Sam Ellis

Brooke Averi
as Little Pearl

Elizabeth Lund
as Teenaged Pearl

Gretchen Storms
as Young Pearl

Marissa Leigh
as Amanda

Sean Smith
as Steve Popovich

Kenneth Alan Williams
as Record Executive

Thomas Bellin
as Minister

Jeff Freilich
as Rocky Horror Picture Show Director

Jacob Benjamin Israeli
as Boy

Keith Allen
as Rocky Horror Picture Show Star

Michelle White
as Reporter

View All

Critic Reviews for Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back

All Critics (1) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (1)

... [W. Earl Brown] has been impressive in everything from Vampire in Brooklyn and Scream to There's Something About Mary and Being John Malkovich...

Feb 7, 2018 | Full Review…

John Leonard
New York Magazine/Vulture
Top Critic