Roadie is a slow, lackluster experience from an actor who could have the potential to do a very funny slapstick film. Meat Loaf has the charisma, attitude, appearance, and ability to play a character in a buddy comedy. Alas, Roadie is not that movie. And it's not really any movie.
The problem is a typical one for comedies in the eighties; they don't know what they want to be. Roadie could've been one of three things; a musical with performances by many great people like Alice Cooper and Hank Williams Jr., a deep character study into Meat Loaf's Travis W. Redfish character, or a buddy comedy involving one making it big, the other left to eat dust. This reminds me of Footloose in the sense that all of its intentions, when focused on their own, could've been successful. But morphing them all into one wasn't.
Travis W. Redfish (Loaf) is a Texas man who has a talent for fixing any and all pieces of equipment. Instruments, trucks, machines, etc. His unique talent gets him a job with as a roadie. The only reason Redfish takes the job is because of a sexy woman named Lola (Hunter) who basically reals him in with her eyes and along for the ride.
The musical numbers are nice, yet far too short. The acting is decent, but sub-par all around, Loaf is nice, but not fully shown, and the script is inconsistent and sometimes dreadfully boring. What could've made Roadie work? Only a major tuneup in the screenplay area? I find it surprising to read that it took four people to write this film. Maybe there was a lot of indecisiveness and compromises among them.
Starring: Meat Loaf and Kari Hunter. Directed by: Alan Rudolph.
The problem is a typical one for comedies in the eighties; they don't know what they want to be. Roadie could've been one of three things; a musical with performances by many great people like Alice Cooper and Hank Williams Jr., a deep character study into Meat Loaf's Travis W. Redfish character, or a buddy comedy involving one making it big, the other left to eat dust. This reminds me of Footloose in the sense that all of its intentions, when focused on their own, could've been successful. But morphing them all into one wasn't.
Travis W. Redfish (Loaf) is a Texas man who has a talent for fixing any and all pieces of equipment. Instruments, trucks, machines, etc. His unique talent gets him a job with as a roadie. The only reason Redfish takes the job is because of a sexy woman named Lola (Hunter) who basically reals him in with her eyes and along for the ride.
The musical numbers are nice, yet far too short. The acting is decent, but sub-par all around, Loaf is nice, but not fully shown, and the script is inconsistent and sometimes dreadfully boring. What could've made Roadie work? Only a major tuneup in the screenplay area? I find it surprising to read that it took four people to write this film. Maybe there was a lot of indecisiveness and compromises among them.
Starring: Meat Loaf and Kari Hunter. Directed by: Alan Rudolph.