Still Crazy (1998)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Excellent but underrated film

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I discovered this gem of a film in the "Hot Picks" section at a local Blockbuster Video store. When I read the synopsis, I though I'd probably like it because it's about a rock band. This film marked the first time I'd ever seen Bill Nighy, who was absolutely brilliant as Ray. He really captured the personality of a rocker with a fragile ego who's fresh out of rehab and torn between his feelings of vulnerability and wanting very much to seem completely "together" and able to just go right back to the "good old days" of Strange Fruit's glory years. I feel that this movie is arguably second only to "This Is Spinal Tap" as the best(and funniest) movie ever made about a rock band. I'd highly recommend it to anyone!

A great movie. Well acted. Good story. And excellent music. Unlike other 'band' movies whose execrable songs let them down by removing all credibility (that old Neil Diamond vehicle 'The Jazz Singer' comes to mind), the songs are well written and believable as hits. It won't appeal to everyone, though. If you didn't grow up in Britain in the seventies you probably won't truly appreciate it. It helps if you were around when 'Strange Fruit's' supposed contemporaries, such as Status Quo, were in their heyday. In other words, it was essentially written by middle-aged Brits for middle-aged Brits. But nothing wrong with that. If you liked this, check out the movies 'That'll Be the Day' and its sequel, 'Stardust'.

If you liked This Is Spinal Tap, then you will love this rockumentary focusing on a fake band reunion. Years when they had success it was shaken by a lighting bolt hitting their gig, and recently a member of the band disappearing, maybe dead. Basically one of the members of the band, Strange Fruit, has the idea, years later, to bring everyone back together for a reunion concert. The members include Tony Costello (The Crying Game's Stephen Rea, Hughie (Billy Connolly), Les Wickes (Jimmy Nail), David 'Beano' Baggot (Timothy Spall), Ray Simms (Bill Nighy) and Brian Lovell (Bruce Robinson), by the way, one of them is the one they suspected was dead. Personally, I preferred this to This Is Spinal Tap, and not just because of an all-star cast, but there was more laughs and more unique moments. Also starring Juliet Aubrey as Karen Knowles, Helena Bergström as Astrid Simms, Hans Matheson as Luke Shand, Rachael Stirling as Clare Knowles, Phil Daniels as Neil Gaydon, Zoë Ball and Corrie's Tricky Dicky Brian Capron as Senior Executive. It was nominated the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical and Best Song for "The Flame Still Burns". Good!

Horrible film. This is a bore fest and rips off "Spinal Tap". Well, it doesn't exactly, but it tries for that funny fictional rock band thing. This movie is supposed to be taken seriously, unlike "Spinal Tap", and that's what makes it such a pretentious bore. For one thing, Tap's music is classic. It's bad, but classic. In other words it's supposed to be bad, and for bad, it's awesome. The music in this flick, that is, the original songs that we're supposed to believe were once classic tunes, are god-awful. Worse than "On the Dark Side" by "Eddie and the Cruisers", if you can believe it. I think it's very difficult to make a film that's supposed to be taken seriously (even if it's a comedy) about a (fictional) famous band, or composer, if you can't write music to back up what the story is about. You can do this with a writer; that is, make a film centering a fictional famous author, because his work doesn't have to show; just make him a brooding, somber, strange and deeply troubled guy and you're in. But with a band, you must play their music to back up why we're supposed to believe they're geniuses. I think they based the main "genius" guy, who is lost for years and presumed dead, on either Brian Jones or Syd Barrett or Jim Morrison or all three. This guy was, or rather is, supposed to be the lost Mozart of rock, and the song that he wrote, that was supposed to be of "Stairway to Heaven" or "Freebird" legacy, sounds more like something the producer or writer or director or gaffer or even best boy of the film wrote in two minutes. Anyhow, it's a horrible, horrible film, one of those "cult movies" that, while being made, was considered "a cult movie to be"... or something. Avoid it even at no costs.