Do you take the sugar? One lump or two?
I got a DVD burner for Christmas. This is why I now have the VH1 TV movie "Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story"on DVD. Tonight I watched "Hysteria" ironically for the first 10 minutes, and the remaining 80 minutes with sincerely rapt attention. Here are some random thoughts on the movie:
-- The believability of the guy who played Joe Elliott was pretty good until the part where the band is making the "Rock of Ages" video. Fake Elliott's hair, now dyed blonde, is way too long for real Elliott circa 1983. Real Elliott had a Nigel Tufnel shag at the time. In the movie fake Elliott has a David St. Hubbins' mane a full four years too early. And when 1987 does finally roll along, and the Lep is performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me," Elliott's pants have nowhere near enough tears and rips in them. I counted two, maybe three. This is a glaring mistake and takes me out of the movie.
-- For reasons I have never been able to explain (not that anyone has ever asked me to explain), Phil Collen is my favorite member of Def Leppard. He isn't a particularly impressive guitar player or overwhelmingly cool personality. He just seems like a nice guy. "Hysteria" confirms my gut feeling and adds a bit of Lennonesque wit to the mix. Thanks VH1, I can explain my love for Phil Collen now.
(Also, the guy who plays Phil Collen would be perfect for the role of Tommy Shaw in "Come Sail Away: The Styx Story," should VH1 decide to make it.)
-- The problem with movies about rockers is that an actor can never be as cool as a rocker, creating an instant and insurmountable credibility issue. There are two exceptions that I know of: Joaquin Phoenix in "Walk the Line" and the guy who plays Steve Clark in "Hysteria." If the real Steve Clark was as cool as the guy who plays Steve Clark, he would be my favorite guitar player.
-- Anthony Michael Hall is hella hypnotically good as record producer Mutt Lange, a pop-metal genius and mind controller who later convinved Shania Twain to sleep with him on a regular basis. And "Photograph" STILL is his greatest achievement.
-- I laugh whenever armless guy who plays Phil Allen comes on camera with a jacket sleeve slapping around. I am a horrible person, I know.
posted by Steve Hyden @ 12:49 AM
3 Comments:
re: sleeve-slapping hilarity -- nothing wrong with laughing at people who aren't normal and beautiful like us. yesterday i almost lost it at Target, when I saw a dude with Down Syndrome wearing a shirt that said, "yes, I believe in God." i wanted to say: "well then, dude, aren't you pissed at him?"
harsh.
-- The problem with movies about rockers is that an actor can never be as cool as a rocker, creating an instant and insurmountable credibility issue. There are two exceptions that I know of: Joaquin Phoenix in "Walk the Line" and the guy who plays Steve Clark in "Hysteria."
I would add Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis in the 1989 "Great Balls of Fire" movie. Although, I don't know if the idea would be to be as "cool" as Jerry Lee. . . most people frown on marrying 13 year old cousins, but I think Dennis Quaid pulls it off. And actually, in my neck of the woods, this behavior is not so uncommon.
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