This movie is forgotten nowadays, but I managed to see it in 2022.
The movie is short on plot: nothing much really happens in terms of events except for the rock n' roll show that occurs at the very end. I also feel that some of the small-talk dialogue drags on a bit, and I had a trouble keeping track of who's who. The movie overall relies on heavily on nostalgia, especially with the non-stop background music (very reminiscent of "American Graffiti" in that respect).
The biggest issue, I feel, is that this movie seems to expect the viewer to already know about Alan Freed and rock n' roll music; so the movie doesn't attempt to educate or inform the viewer about Alan Freed and rock n' roll music. This quality might have been fine in 1978, as many viewers were probably old enough to remember the 1950s; but in 2022, I think a lot of people (like me) would expect more in terms of details.
Basically, the movie is not informative or educational: don't watch if you're expecting to learn much about Alan Freed. But if you're a huge fan who already knows a lot of Alan Freed, then you may want to watch just for the visuals, the music, and the nostalgia. The acting is good all-around (even Jay Leno puts in an acceptable performance)
The movie is short on plot: nothing much really happens in terms of events except for the rock n' roll show that occurs at the very end. I also feel that some of the small-talk dialogue drags on a bit, and I had a trouble keeping track of who's who. The movie overall relies on heavily on nostalgia, especially with the non-stop background music (very reminiscent of "American Graffiti" in that respect).
The biggest issue, I feel, is that this movie seems to expect the viewer to already know about Alan Freed and rock n' roll music; so the movie doesn't attempt to educate or inform the viewer about Alan Freed and rock n' roll music. This quality might have been fine in 1978, as many viewers were probably old enough to remember the 1950s; but in 2022, I think a lot of people (like me) would expect more in terms of details.
Basically, the movie is not informative or educational: don't watch if you're expecting to learn much about Alan Freed. But if you're a huge fan who already knows a lot of Alan Freed, then you may want to watch just for the visuals, the music, and the nostalgia. The acting is good all-around (even Jay Leno puts in an acceptable performance)