Once you've made it to the grand finale of this movie, it's clear that this was the only happy ending it could have had. Johnny was heading for Willy Loman territory with a one way ticket, but he had to be shown that, far from being the failure he couldn't face being, he had created something that was timeless. His smoldering discontent reminds very much of "Death of a Salesman", although his own family is a far more functioning unit that Willy's. Baz's voluntary demise was tragic yet sort of inevitable - yet Johnny had a lot more to live for. The film is deceptively complex. An ending to equal "The Browning Version". It's a long way there, though.... It's also interesting to see Guy Pearce before he made LA Confidential.
2 Reviews
John Waters really shines !!!
Michael_Grech9 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
There may be some people who will not agree with my comments about this film, but i believe that it is one of John Waters' best.
This film is a bit obscure as not many people know of it but I think it deserves a lot more credit.
It is a story of a washed up rock star (Johnny Dysart) who just will not give up even though he has no chance at all of ever being able to sell records again. He refuses to give in to modern trends/sounds and sticks with his heart and keeps on trying, falsely believing that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
What makes things worse for Johnny is that his son is an up and coming pop star and is generating a lot of interest. This causes a lot of tension between them because he cannot accept his son using modern music systems adapting to new technology.
His wife has also had to suffer a lot due to his dreams of a comeback. She has stuck by him for a long time but her patience is running out.
In the end he has to face the sad reality that his son can get a record deal and will sell records and that johnny will never sell records again and he eventually decides to accept it and look to a new career path.
This film is very similar to Boulevard Of Broken Dreams. Both films are made in Melbourne, have the same director and some of the same actors.
I would strongly urge you to watch this film if you come across it. Hopefully one day it will be released on DVD.
This film is a bit obscure as not many people know of it but I think it deserves a lot more credit.
It is a story of a washed up rock star (Johnny Dysart) who just will not give up even though he has no chance at all of ever being able to sell records again. He refuses to give in to modern trends/sounds and sticks with his heart and keeps on trying, falsely believing that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
What makes things worse for Johnny is that his son is an up and coming pop star and is generating a lot of interest. This causes a lot of tension between them because he cannot accept his son using modern music systems adapting to new technology.
His wife has also had to suffer a lot due to his dreams of a comeback. She has stuck by him for a long time but her patience is running out.
In the end he has to face the sad reality that his son can get a record deal and will sell records and that johnny will never sell records again and he eventually decides to accept it and look to a new career path.
This film is very similar to Boulevard Of Broken Dreams. Both films are made in Melbourne, have the same director and some of the same actors.
I would strongly urge you to watch this film if you come across it. Hopefully one day it will be released on DVD.
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