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Callum Keith Rennie,
Callum Keith Rennie,
John Pyper-Ferguson,
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Bruce McDonald,
Bruce McDonald
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: Miramax
: Music, Mockumentary, Mockumentaries, Quest, Road Movies, Canada
: 92 min.
: English
: English
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Bruce McDonald directed this mock-documentary (and appears onscreen as himself) which looks at a veteran punk rock band taking one final stab at the big time. Singer Joe Dick (Hugh Dillon), guitarist Billy Tallent (Callum Keith Rennie), bassist John Oxenberger (John Pyper-Fergson), and drummer Pipefitter (Bernie Coulson) were the members of Hard Core Logo, a Vancouver-based rock band that was one of Canada's biggest and most influential punk outfits for the better part of a decade. Formed in 1978, Hard Core Logo broke up in 1991 after releasing seven albums and playing over a thousand shows; Joe went on to play the occasional solo gig, Billy moved to L.A. and has been sitting in with platinum-selling alternative pop band Jennifur while their guitarist tries to kick drugs, John has been putting his life back together after a severe nervous breakdown, and Pipefitter hasn't been doing much of anything. Word begins to circulate that Bucky Haight (Julian Richings), one of the seminal figures of Canadian punk and Joe's mentor, lost a leg (or maybe both) following a mysterious incident in which intruders shot him after breaking into his prairie farmhouse. Joe organizes a benefit for Bucky, with Hard Core Logo reuniting for the occasion; the show is a huge success, and Joe persuades Billy to join him, John, and Pipefitter for a five-date reunion tour to cash in on the benefit's notoriety. Billy, killing time while he waits to find out if his spot in Jennifur will become permanent, is more than a bit preoccupied, and his desire for professionalism doesn't mesh especially well with Joe's take-it-as-it-comes attitude -- especially after it becomes evident that Joe's purposes for reuniting the band weren't as benevolent as they seemed. Actual Canadian punk legends D.O.A. make a cameo appearance as one of Hard Core Logo's opening acts, and American punk godfather Joey Ramone appears briefly in a news report about the Bucky Haight benefit show. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| Never Mind Spinal Tap, Here's The Logos
by torchit
September 18, 2005 - 1:37 PM PDT
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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| First of all, put it out of your head that this is a comedy. Miramax, I believe, killed this film in the States by labelling it as such. It's a "mockudrama", if such a word exists - a fictional documentary of a fictional band. It has darkly funny moments, but they're not what holds the film together. It is a dramatic film based on a poem-novel of the same name by Michael Turner. It's brutal and it's believable. I want so badly for this band to exist in real life. Since it doesn't, I can pop this film in any time and hang around Canada's "best-never" punk band. If you love Spinal Tap, you'll probably hate this. If you love "SLC Punk", you'll probably love it. But give it a chance. Watch it more than once, and see how it grows on you. It's one of my favorite films. |
| Hardly a Comedy
by danleary25
February 25, 2004 - 10:24 PM PST
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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| This film bares a particularly inaccurate label: Comedy. Before you watch Hard Core Logo you should know that it is not at all a comedy. There is humor and is by definition a parody, but this movie's first directive is not make you laugh. The misconception undoubtably comes from the This Is Spinal Tap correlation. Both films are mockumentaries following a late-aged band trying to hold together a tour but that is mostly where the relationship ends. Hard Core Logo is in fact a melo-drama which, unlike Spinal Tap, has a script adapted from a book and doesn't rely as strongly on improvisation. Indeed most of the movie is too structured(although somewhat poorly) to have been the product of improvisation. "Punk rock Spinal Tap" stigma aside, the movie itself is passable by all accounts. Most concepts, dialogue and sequences are well-meaning but ultimately gristle. Really the characters of Joe and Billy give the most merit, they are dead on portrayals of type of relationships and personalities you'll find in these bands. All this is to say nothing of the great music. Ultimately all punk rock and mockumentary fans will want to see this. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 5.68)
38 Votes
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