Allan Arkush, the director of the cult favorite Rock 'n' Roll High School, returned to the genre in this energetic 1983 rock comedy for what could be its companion piece.
It's set behind the scenes at an all-star New Year's Eve concert at a storied rock palace (inspired by San Francisco's famed Fillmore East) as the avuncular promoter Max Wolfe (Allen Garfield) fends off a cartoonishly villainous developer (Ed Begley Jr.) who wants to tear it down for office buildings. It's a cliché that Arkush plays for broad humor and goofy sight gags as the story of the stagehands and performers play out.
Daniel Stern plays the good-natured stage manager, essentially the hero of the film, but top billing goes to Malcolm McDowell who plays concert headliner Reggie Wanker, a self-aggrandizing Mick Jagger-like rock legend who swaggers in a codpiece.
The concert also features Bill Henderson as blues legend King Blues (inspired by B.B. King and Muddy Waters) and Nada, a 15-piece all-girl band featuring Lori Eastside (of Kid Creole and the Coconuts) and a membership representing a whole history of girl band styles, from sixties girl group to The Bangles and Go-Gos to punk and new wave. There's also a romance that plays out in fantasy sequences inspired by classic movies, slapstick gags that could have come out of a Looney Tunes cartoon, a race to find a hidden bomb set to blow at midnight, and Lou Reed as a Bob Dylan-esque singer-songwriter racing to get to the concert on time.
Full of energy, whimsy, and a soundtrack of rock classics, it could be the spiritual sequel to Rock 'n' Roll High School (Arkush even casts stars Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, and Clint Howard in small roles) with an R-rating for nudity, language, and a lot of drug humor (not all of which has aged well). Media librarians should add this fun title to their library shelves for patrons with interests in 1980s films and music.
The original sound and picture elements of the film had been missing for decades, keeping it off disc and streaming formats. Kino Lorber found the missing elements, cleared the music rights, and worked with director Allan Arkush to produce this special edition release. Arkush is joined by fellow filmmakers Eli Roth and Daniel Kremer for a commentary track and hosts the retrospective documentary The Afterparty, conducted over Zoom with members of the cast and crew (including stars Daniel Stern and Malcolm McDowell). Also includes a featurette exploring the legacies of the fake bands in the film, Arkush's original "Trailers From Hell" presentation on the film from 2013, and three music videos.