When Def Leppard returned to MTV with Hysteria, it was a revolution. The band members were adolescent friends who aspired to leave their Sheffield lives behind them. Instead, they became a leader in the music industry. Hysteria's legacy still lives on to those of us who remember it. The film reminded me of their ability to triumph over tragedy. They were all young when they rose to success. Of course, they hit obstacles like alcohol, drugs, and money. When Rick loses his arm in a car accident, he is determined to return to the band. I admire the band for not turning their backs on their friend. When Steve Clark is battling alcoholism, his friends are there for him as well. The film is not great but I bet it could have been better. I liked the flashbacks in the end to show the change in their appearances. They have grown older, wiser, and better for it. The road to Hysteria was marked by tragedy and triumph at once. The song "Pour Some Sugar On Me!" was a hit video on MTV. I must have seen it a hundred times or more. In the 1980s, musicians and bands like Def Leppard created lyrics with music. Today, all there is vulgarity, sexual references, obscenity, and violence in the most popular music today. Gone are the music videos that inhabited MTV all those years. It was once a music station. I saw this film on VH-1 which was also begun as an alternative to MTV. Both now dedicate themselves to reality shows and other programming. I miss MTV and the videos like Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me, Hysteria, Photograph, Love Hurts, Animal, etc. Of course, young actors who play larger than life band members do a superb job in portraying. For a minute, I believed the band was actually playing themselves. I had to see the credits. I bet they could have marketed and released this film in the theaters and they would be rocking to the sound of Def Leppard. Too bad they placed it on television as documentary. To Def Leppard, keep rocking on.
