I feel compelled to issue a personal thank you to Mr. Clint Eastwood for making this movie. Quite honestly I think it is the finest movie he’s ever directed. I know the people who vote behind the scenes for the White People Awards, also known as “the Oscars” would probably hold up “Million Dollar Baby” or some other film, but I have to admit, as big a Clint Eastwood fan as I am, I didn’t like “Million Dollar Baby.” Nearly ejected the DVD well before the end. I liked the first part, but everything after she got injured in the ring, no.
Millennials probably missed the subtle parts of this movie. How many of you caught onto the fact they had to put everything into those two 1950s era cars and drive from show to show? Today you kids hack out a tune with some kind of video, toss it up on You-tube or some other site then fly to a gig. Once you start making it there are huge tour buses with professional drivers. Artists today talk about “being on the road” but back then they really were.
How many of the younger crowd caught the fact Christopher Walken was now in a movie about the group who created the song he and other actors were singing at the top of their lungs while drinking beer driving out to go deer hunting? If you haven’t seen the movie “Deer Hunter” I recommend you watch it a few weeks before watching this movie. Give it time to sink in. “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” was released in 1967 and “Deer Hunter” was released in 1978. It was already an oldies tune by then. It was the kind of tune you would hear being introduced by Dick Biondi on one of the numerous stations he was on over his career.
On a personal note, any movie with Christopher Walken, even in a bit role, is worth a spin in the DVD player. I don’t care if critics emptied their colons and the colons of 3 friends on it. He seems to bring a certain quality to any role.
This movie is quite a pleasurable journey. It is music you don’t hear much anymore. Yes, it was oldies music when I was young, but, there is a rather timeless quality to it. The movie is well done and the story well told. I really liked how they handled the back story which wouldn’t fit in the actual story line. They simply zoom in on one actor and have them spin it out in a short monologue then continue on with the scene. It is a story telling technique one can really only get away with in a movie. Definitely put this movie on your rental list.