Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Ian Dury overcame childhood polio and later blasted his way to rock ‘n' roll stardom with cheeky lyrics (this film's title comes from his biggest hit song) and a stage act that was heavy on theater. Andy Serkis looks like a mad troll in his incarnation of Dury, the music-hall showman of the British punk scene who embraced fame as frontman for the group Ian Dury and the Blockheads, while consuming copious amounts of booze and drugs. While Serkis is superb, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is unfortunately an all-too-familiar freak show of ego run amuck, with director Mat Whitecross hiding his utterly conventional biopic within a narrative chopped up into flashbacks, fantasies, animated interludes, music videos, and carnivalesque stage shows, all presented at breakneck speed. Granted, the result is energetic, but it doesn't offer much insight into the man behind the public persona. Co-stars include Olivia Williams as Dury's wife, Betty; Naomie Harris as Denise, his young fan, muse, and live-in lover; and Ray Winstone as his father. Likely to be of little interest to those who are not already familiar with cult figure Dury, this is optional. (S. Axmaker)