Customer Reviews

Garage Days

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Garage Days (Alex Proyas, 2002)

There is something deeply, desperately wrong with a movie's marketing when the very tag line seen on posters around the world gives away the film's major plot twist. That doesn't stop this from being an amusing little film, however. It involves an Australian garage rock band fronted by Freddy (Spartan's Kick Gurry) who are trying to find a place to play. Freddy's girlfriend Tanya (Queen of the Damned's Pia Miranda) plays bass. Guitarist Joe (Brett Stiller) is predictably moody, and is in tenuous ground with girlfriend Kate (XX/XY's Maya Stange). Manager Bruno (Russell Dykstra, from the BlackJack franchise) is something of a lovable foulup who seems congenitally incapable of getting the band gigs, but a chance encounter at a bar between Freddy and the manager of Sprimp, Australia's hottest act, gives the band hope. Meanwhile, with the various relationships on the rocks, Freddy finds himself more and more attracted to Kate; will internal pressures kill the band off before they can even make it to their first gig?

As much as I hate to say it, the weak link in this chain is director Alex Proyas. When Proyas is in his element, I have endless respect for the man; The Crow and Dark City are well on their way to becoming bona fide classics, and he even managed to make something halfway watchable out of I, Robot. The common thread, of course, is that all of these films are dark, moody pieces punctuated with frenetic action scenes. Garage Days, on the other hand, is a light comedy piece. Not the kind of thing one would expect from a guy who normally does dark fantasy action pictures, and it shows. Imagine if David Fincher tried to do a remake of, say, Sunday in the Park with George. The general raucousness of the film feels forced at times, artificially subdued at others. The upside to it, though, is that the comedy tends to be more understated than one would expect from a movie of this type, which leads to some subtle (and some disturbing) gags that might have otherwise come off as silly and/or tasteless.

It could have been a better film, to be sure, but it's not a bad one as it stands. Worth checking out, at least. ** ½

After seeing The Crow I had much loved respect for Proyas and then he did Dark City and I still did, but I was pretty mad at him for doing I, Robot because I hated that movie with a passion. Then I saw this one on the video shelves and I rented it and I liked it, to some extent. Rock stardom is always interesting, especially when they play. Some good performances (one in mind being Kick Gurry), but some come off as bland. Brett Stiller?? Any relation to Ben Stiller? Maybe? Who knows. Anyway, the slow motion stuff was interesting and kept me from steering away. Marton Csokas (costarred with Vin Diesel in Triple X) also stars as the head manager to Sprimp (nice band name). Highlight would be the dinner scene when their all hallucinating..funny s**t. Proyas pulls off another enjoyable movie...for the most part. This made up for I, Robot. My suggestion is dont go see the crappy I, Robot...rent this one.

In the tradition of "Airheads" and "That Thing You Do" comes this against-genre film from the director of the dark fantasy adaptation of "The Crow" and sci-fi classic "Dark City" (as well as this summer's would-be box office hit "I, Robot") Alex Proyas. It's another in a line of interestingly quirky Australian movies (and in fact not terribly dissimilar from the late Michael Hutchence's acting debut "Dogs In Space", though certainly far more light-hearted) that adds to that nation's reputation as a producer of fine cinema that pound-for-pound can go round-for-round with the heavyweights of the industry in Hollywood without breaking a sweat.

The film was obviously a labor of love, and even though the band at the center of the movie was definitely low-fi, the movie itself was shot using first-class editing and production values. The scenes of introspection when characters are given to voiceover monologue are particularly effective, to say nothing of the "Fun With Drugs" sequences. And even though there is a shortage of original music (how do you go about writing a song that you DON'T want to sound good?), the music used on the soundtrack itself is a terrific sampling of classic rock and alternative music that have been genre standards for ages, used to good effect (especially AC/DC and the Cure).

The actors are certain to be unknown to most American audiences, and not all characters are developed as evenly as they should be (this is particularly true of the band's bassist Tanya, who starts out as the frontman's girlfriend and then almost disappears from the plot entirely, instead being relegated to a position player; the fact that the characters are introduced at the beginning of the movie by the instrument they play in the band rather than their respective character names is not likely an accident). It is true that all of the classic rock-&-roll lifestyle cliche's are represented; there are problems with relationships, problems with drugs, and even problems with maintaining a grip on reality. There are sleazy managers, sexually manipulative diva wanna-bes, and has-beens who just don't know when to cut the mullet and get a real job. We've seen these issues play out across the pages of Billboard and Rolling Stone magazines with megaplatinum acts like the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, and of course the Rolling Stones. This is a movie that is dedicated to all the bands (a few of which I have been a member of) that never made it far enough to implode in such public surroundings.

As the case of the DVD asks: "What if you finally got your big break...and you just plain sucked?" See this movie and find out.

I totally bought this movie just because Chris Sadrinna was so hot as a punk rocker!

Having been in many bands I could easily identify with the group this film centers around. The film is quickly paced and pretty engaging, but I did find it a little uneven in tone at times. I don't want to give anything away, but I am rarely surprised when watching a film and this film does drop a bomb or two that I wasn't expecting.

It's a fun film with some insight on the rough road of "Rock'N'Roll". It's no joke and even though I have had moderate success in the business, it's not easy being in a band no matter how successful you are! An interesting soundtrack and an honest look at band life even if it is pretty light at times, it does have it's dark moments.

If you liked TRAINSPOTTING and SLC PUNK you'll like GARAGE DAYS. Also has elements of REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and SALTON SEA. "You don't have to be a rock star to feel like one" is the saying for this group who have the drive but is Australia ready for them? With the growing trend of pretty boy djs live music has become the sign of the past.

There are valuable lessons to be learned:

FUN WITH DRUGS PART 1
The visual and physical effects of taking drugs. Create a world of your own if the world around you sucks!

FUN WITH DRUGS PART 2
Here's to bleeding your parents dry. Drug taking at its best when you invite your parents over for dinner. Heads will burn! Then ask them for money.

Then there's the sexual interaction among the 4 group members. Freddy and Tanya are an item but Freddy loves Kate who's involved with Joe Papa who's not faithful to her. But when Joe Papa realizes his loyality towards Kate he creates a fruity baby by the name of Millie Melon (an actual melon) caring for it as if a real baby. Is this confusing yet? Well, Tanya never was satisfied with Freddy to begin with and ends up with Lucy who has the most bizzare sexual habits to tickle her fancy. The group gets a real break when Freddy finds the wallet of a successful band promotor. Do they have what it takes? Watch GARAGE DAYS and find out for yourself.

You know the story of the band that has everything against it, but manages - through determination, luck, camradery and musical skill - to break into the big time and then lives happily ever after?

This is that story except the band has no musical skill.

Garage Days is the story of five friends who come to learn that their love of music transcends making a living as a band or even being very good at playing. What they do succeed at is finding out what it means to have friends and lovers and that relationships that will last a lifetime can come upon you at the most strange times and circumstances...and often with the person you least suspect.

The film has the humorous rough edge found in many Australian productions, an earthy good-humour driven as much by the culture as the screenplay. The cast of relative newcomers are convincing in their roles, even if the characterizations are a bit thin.

Sit back and enjoy the humour and joyfullness of this well-made film.

I saw this film well over a year ago at the Sundance Film Festival. It was very funny and often visually stunning. Proyas brings his intense and imaginative style to a simple romantic comedy about a garage band, resulting in a unique experience. The romantic aspect is not very strong, but I still give the film 5 stars (rounding up from 4.5). I plan to buy the DVD when it is released...

Plot: A not so talented band struggles with drugs sex and rock and roll. Yup that sums it up!! The acting and character development is very well done. You have the singer/guitar writer who dreams of being a star who has a girlfriend, the bass player, who is into someone else. The lead guitarist is having strange fantasies of sex and adopts a melon as a child meanwhile abandoning his girl who the singer digs, the drummer experiments with too many drugs while the manager is just plain crazy!!! Sound Interesting? Pacing of the movie reminds me a lot like Trainspotting. Better than i expected!!

This movie falls in as one of the top in the sex, drugs, and rock and roll genre. In the tradition of movies such as Velvet Goldmine or Go, this movie is a fun and often times hilarious ride perfect for those drunken get-togethers with friends. The characters are very likeable. The lead singer is hopelessly in love with a girl pregnant with his schizophrenic friend's baby. The bassist is a strong female in search of a good orgasm. The drummer is a pharmacy-robbing druggy in search of a perfect high, and the guitarist is the schizophrenic. All in all, these are all people I'd want to hang out with on a Saturday night. This movie is beautifully acted, well directed, and well written. It's a shame that it didn't get the attention it deserved when out in theatres. I'd highly recommend this movie in every regard.