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Review
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Interesting, lively comic-drama about a 15-year-old boy who
is assigned, by Rolling Stone Magazine, to cover a new band
on their cross-country tour. His mother reluctantly agrees
while warning him, at very opportunity, to "don't do drugs".
But that's part of the interesting colour of this film-- it
must have been tempting to turn the mother into a comic
facade for conservative, out-of-date values, but, instead,
she is a nuanced, rich character who, in the end, has
something valuable to say to the young rock stars idolized
by her son.
Lester Bangs takes the boy under his wings after receiving
some of the boy's work. Bangs warns the boy that the current
crop of rock stars are only out for themselves, that rock is
dead (strangely enough, he is a fan of the Guess Who, a
Canadian band that was not exactly known for cutting-edge
music). Then Ben Fong-Torres of Rolling Stone calls him and
gives him the dream assignment. Along the way he meets
groupies and band members and road crew and, partly because
of his youth, becomes privy to a side of rock'n'roll not
normally visible to the public.
But here the movie gets side-tracked. He develops a passion
for one of the groupies and becomes sensitive to the
semi-abusive relationship between rock stars and their fans.
Eventually, he even saves her life-- did this really
happen, as Crowe claims it did?-- and ends up somewhat
disillusioned.
Well-made and acted and, like other Crowe offerings
(including "Say Anything") with an edge that lifts it above
an idea that could have rather pedestrian in the hands of a
more conventional talent.
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