Thursday, February 11, 2010
Drop Dead Rock DVD (MVD)
The kindest thing one can say about this newly released 1996 would-be rock 'n' roll comedy is that both Adam Ant and Debbie Harry both look good and deliver their lines coherently. Other than that it's hard to be too enthusiastic about this fart of a farce in which a terrible garage band kidnaps a washed up 80s punk-ish star (not sure if he's supposed to spoof Billy Idol, Gary Glitter, John Lydon, or a member of Sigue Sigue Sputnik) as the star's treacherous manager and balloon-boobed wife (and some random terrorists) conspire against him. Musically it's OK, as the two songs that are repeated over and over are kind of ridiculous and rocking, but as far as story, acting, gags, and tone this is pretty flat. That said, I sort of recommend this for the bonus feature/making of/director's commentary. Produced by the guys who did the Beastie Boys video "Fight For Your Right to Party," you'd expect them to be pretty clever and in on the jokes, but unfortunately at no point in their comments do they acknowledge that the movie kind of sucks (Lloyd Kaufman never makes that mistake), but other than that it's pretty valuable to hear them give genuinely practical tips about how to make a no budget movie and make it look professional. They also point out that only crew/cast member who went on to become a superstar was the costume designer, which makes you realize how important wardrobe is, because rocker Spazz-O's stupid costume and the rest of the couture really do elevate this thing.
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