In 1983, journalist Ellen Barkin starts digging into the story of a supposed accident which killed Eddie Wilson, lead singer for Eddie and the Cruisers, a hot 60's band who made one hit album. Also in question are missing tapes for another album which never got made. Could there be more to the story than a simple accident? And where did these missing tapes go? And plus, Eddie's body was never found.
This had all the potential of being a great movie. Switching between present and the swinging 60's, remembered by the band's piano player (Tom Berenger), the story of this fictional band is played out. What is truly an interesting premise gets bogged down by a below average script which is more shallow than a bathtub.
None of these characters come to life, remaining as much a mystery to the viewer as to the public Ellen Barkin hopes to enlighten. Michael Paré, who plays Eddie, is supposed to be this fountain of wisdom, but he's so poorly written and comes off as completely one-dimensional. None of the other main characters fare any better, with Tom Berenger completely wasted in the lead role. Sudden dramatic scenes, like when the band's sax player overdoses, are left completely unexplained and have absolutely no plight whatsoever. And what's the deal with Eddie and his girlfriend? Is she just a slut or who did she really want to be with? Nothing is fully explored or explained, leaving the viewer (me anyway) wanting to know a lot more.
The film's saving grace is the fantastic music score done by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown band. When Eddie and the Cruisers are playing their stuff the movie suddenly comes alive, and Michael Paré is an excellent performer on stage and lip syncs to perfection. That's the reason why I keep revisiting this film on a regular basis.
Overall acceptable but hugely disappointing in most respects.
This had all the potential of being a great movie. Switching between present and the swinging 60's, remembered by the band's piano player (Tom Berenger), the story of this fictional band is played out. What is truly an interesting premise gets bogged down by a below average script which is more shallow than a bathtub.
None of these characters come to life, remaining as much a mystery to the viewer as to the public Ellen Barkin hopes to enlighten. Michael Paré, who plays Eddie, is supposed to be this fountain of wisdom, but he's so poorly written and comes off as completely one-dimensional. None of the other main characters fare any better, with Tom Berenger completely wasted in the lead role. Sudden dramatic scenes, like when the band's sax player overdoses, are left completely unexplained and have absolutely no plight whatsoever. And what's the deal with Eddie and his girlfriend? Is she just a slut or who did she really want to be with? Nothing is fully explored or explained, leaving the viewer (me anyway) wanting to know a lot more.
The film's saving grace is the fantastic music score done by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown band. When Eddie and the Cruisers are playing their stuff the movie suddenly comes alive, and Michael Paré is an excellent performer on stage and lip syncs to perfection. That's the reason why I keep revisiting this film on a regular basis.
Overall acceptable but hugely disappointing in most respects.