Vinyl

Vinyl- Director Sara Sugarman/ Written Jim Cooper, Sara Sugarman

3/5

By Jonathan L Hermitt

Independent films are somewhat risky where they can either be a cinema gem or confusingly banal.

I took the plunge with an indie comedy and discovered that my precious time hadn't completely been drained, staring into my laptop screen.

In a peculiar genre emerges a small, low budgeted British off-comedy, Vinyl, lead by veteran actors such as Keith Allen (Minto) and Phil Daniels (Johnny Jones) and fresh, upcoming pretty boy Jamie Blackley (Drainpipe). Filmed in land of the Welsh, tells the true story of a 1980s band that ignites a media phenomenon by casting a group of young children to masquerade the hit single of the ageing eighties band. Raising awareness upon the issue of image, capitalising obsessed music labels and the ignorance of consumerism; projecting an almost satire objective.

A cheeky little tale that manages to maintain one's attention throughout; alongside relevant subplots that plays large contributions to the main plot. Occasionally forced the odd chuckle and included spots of crude humour (the best kind) to give it that British edge. A deeper character development wouldn't have hurt the film, although there wasn't much complexity in the characters unless we dug...dug deep.

The acting performances overall were mediocre, however Phil Daniels and Jamie Blackley did stand out from the rest of the group- this could be due to being scripted more speech, but the penultimate scene when both had to dig deep and find those tears was rather indicative of skill. The presence of tears weren't the indication but more the timing and control of the quantity were reflective of the characters and the respected reputation of Phil Daniels and potential of Blackley.

Could it better? Of course.

Regardless, sometimes that is the sacrifice of a low-budget film- needless to say, the film hasn't won the rights to boast although I wouldn't discard it completely.

Wow, it was great to catch up with Phil Daniels after all these years! Living in the USA, I literally hadn't seen him in anything since I ventured into a Mpls. theater in late '79 for my initial viewing of "Quadrophenia". Oh, I'd heard him 'rapping' on Blur's "Parklife" and as the lead voice in "Chicken Run", but it was my first actual Phil sighting since the 70's! And I've got to say, he can still bring it as a lead actor. We're roughly the same age, so please keep it going, Phil. It's nice to see there's still hope for the over 55 crowd when you're getting plum roles, even if I'm still sitting here at this god-awful desk.

As for the movie, I'm going with a six rating. I was unfamiliar with Mike Peters' 2004 hoax where he released a song under a pseudonym, but I'm glad he was able to pull one over on the music industry which ultimately led to this film. And I always liked The Alarm, even if they were slagged off as short-lived "U2 wannabes" in the states.

Vinyl is just a fun movie. The movie is fantastic and you can tell it was a labor of love to get this film made. No, it's not going to win an Academy Award (well, maybe for the soundtrack), but what's wrong with 90 minutes of good entertainment and a story that will have you leaving the theater with a smile on your face? I was fortunate enough to attend the American premiere in New York City. Back then, distribution was seen as a major issue. It's good to see the film is getting on some screens in the UK. I'd certainly like to go see it again and hope it can get on some screens here in the States. I was lucky enough to talk to director Sara Sugarman and -- unlike what the twit at the bottom of the screen said -- found her to be utterly charming. You could see the dedication and sacrifice she put in to get this film made.

Go see this movie!

Not the be confused with the 2016 TV show, 'Vinyl', directed by Sara Sugarman, is a quirky obscure 2012 musical comedy movie, which is a fictionalised version of the famous 2004 music hoax by 70's punk rockers, The Alarm to expose the ageism that unfortunately plagues the Music industry.

In this loose retelling of the story, Johnny Jones (played by Phil Daniels, who you may remember from the classic Blur single, 'Parklife') who was in the vintage punk band, Weapons of Happiness reunites with his old band mates after the funeral of a friend. They then get back together for a drunken jam session the following night, and come up with a very ear worm-ey tune, with the potential to be a big hit called 'Free Rock And Roll'. The only problem is, nobody wants to sign these middle-aged rockstars to a big major label, so Johnny has the idea of hoodwinking the bigoted big record companies by hiring a bunch of teenagers to front a fictional band to lip sync to their music, and coincidentally enjoy quite a bit of success!

Despite it being done on a very low budget, and the whole film feeling like it was filmed and edited on a consumer grade turn of the millennium camcorder (not sure if this is intentional to go with the punk aesthetic), the script is very funny, and the acting, for the most part is pretty good. I also feel the title the movie is sort of misleading, as vinyl records have basically nothing to do with the plot of the film, and I think it would've been a lot more successful if it had been called 'Free Rock and Roll'.

It might look cheap, but it's a film with a lot of charm - as the old saying goes, don't judge a book by it's cover! Interestingly, the late Terry Jones from Monty Python fame was a fan of this film.

And before I go, after you watch this movie, I guarantee you that you will get 'Free Rock and Roll' completely stuck in your head - I'm honestly quite surprised it wasn't a hit in the real world, as it's probably on the catchiest songs I've ever heard in my life!

Free Rock and Roll! Free Rock and Roll! Free Rock and Rooooollllllll!!!!!!!!!

I managed to catch Vinyl at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Wasn't expecting much from it as I'd not read anything about it and didn't recognize any of the cast. But I was so happy that I saw it. It was such a pleasant surprise. And it was based on a true story which made it feel even more charming. It follows an old British rock group trying to break back in to the music scene with no luck. So they audition and create a younger group who mime to their songs and become successful. The songs are great especially the main song, I guarantee you'll be singing it for days after you see it. A real crowd pleaser. Would love to see it again. Hope it comes out soon.