Customer Reviews

Light of Day

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Being a Runaways fan, I bought this when it was first released on video. Joan Jett plays Patty, a young single mom determined to be a rock star or die trying. Her son is the result of a rape when she was a teenager. Her mom considers her a slut for refusing to reveal who Benji's father is, and thinks Patty is a bad mother for her career choice. Michael J. Fox plays her younger brother. He works at a factory, and plays gigs with Patty in The BarBusters. He doesn't share Patty's aspirations to be a rock star though, he would rather "settle down" and have a family. I think the plot revolving around the brother & sister relationship is very true to life. I would recommend this movie to people who like rock n' roll and dramas that aren't too sappy. Would LOVE to see this re-released on DVD! The soundtrack is hard to find, but be sure to buy it if you can! It includes Jett tracks not available elsewhere.

I grew up in Cleveland, and I feel that this movie does a great job giving an accurate portrayal of the people and city back then.And the music is great!!!!!!!! I have wanted to own this movie since it came out....it is a must have!

This is a great look at the everday lives of your average blue- collar musician who doesn't expect fame and fortune, but is just trying to get by and play music because that is what they enjoy doing more than anything else in life. I don't understand the people who say michael J. Fox was miscast. I think he comes off as convincing in the character he portrays- and he is a real- life musician as well, even before he became famous for acting. Do people on here not realize that he did play his guitar parts for the movie and that the Barbusters were a REAL band who played live to get into character for this movie? I recommend people try to tarck down the lIght Of Day soundtrack and hear Fox's rendition of "Rude Mood" as well as his signature song for the movie "Ain't Got No Place To Go". Anyway, I think the music here was fantastic throughout, and comes off very realistically. When they are playing live in the film they are actually LIVE and not using pre-recorded studio tracks to give the concert illusion. And as characters in the film move throughout the concert scenes you can hear the music ebb, flow, and wane as it would in an actual concert setting. I especially appreciate the scene during the performance of "It's All Comin' Down Tonight" where they show a group of people exit thier cars in the parking lot and enter the club. The music is muffled and you can sense the cuncussion effect against the club walls as they approach the front doors, and then as the doors open- wow! full on rockin' out! The attention to fine details like this that any music- loving concert veteran will be all too aware of is what seperates this film from alot of music- oriented films. Lastly, the dynamic between Patty and Joe was very well done. It's a very realistic scenario among two siblings in the same band with different aspiriations and different ideals. Look at most bands around who have siblings and take notice of how often that scenario leads to conflict and band turmoil. Light Of Day was a great, realistic portrayal of a work class bar band, and it stands apart from so many others of the genre. It needs to be released on DVD soon (with lots of interviews and extras).

A low key entry from usually over-the-top writer/director Paul Schrader ("American Gigolo", "Blue Collar" "Hardcore"). "Light Of Day"'s deliberate pacing and naturalistic perfomances may be a turn-off for those who crave bombast and action. However, viewers with patience will be rewarded. Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett are quite convincing (and touching) as the brother and sister trying to escape thier dreary Midwest blue-collar life by becoming weekend rock stars , and the great Gena Rowlands is fine as the guilt-tripping mother. The late Jason Miller (recognized by most as the young priest in "The Exorcist") is good as the ineffectual father. The bar band scenes are quite realistic, and several of the songs are memorable (one penned exclusively for the film by Bruce Springsteen) but once again anyone expecting a rock musical will probably be disappointed by the emphasis on family melodrama instead of the usual backstage antics.

What keeps a great movie from being put on dvd? Copyrights, copyrights, copyrights! From what I read and totally believe, Warner Bros throws a little hissy fit because of a song in the movie they own the copyright to, and won't let Sony release it on dvd. I'm telling you, copyrights are going to make all our bloods boil to monstrous levels and one of these days it ain't gonna be pretty! There is no reason for this wonderfully acted movie with a sizzling soundtrack to not be on dvd. Ridiculous. Just plain ridiculous! Oh, and heads up! Be careful about this Region 2 dvd - it's only in German. Again, ridiculous. So your best option is to find the rare OOP laserdisc and if you don't have an LD player, find an old used one cheap onebay. Or settle for the VHS, but it won't be as good a quality as laserdisc, the Big Daddy of the DVD.

An underrated classic! Soundtrack by the Boss, performed by Joan Jett, I don't know why awards didn't abound. The Michael J. Fox foundation should sell copies of this DVD for Parkinson's research. It's that mega-good! Please, please, please release this on region-1-DVD!

WHY isn't this on DVD???!!!! You can find all kinds of crap for five dollars at just about any store you go to, but THIS classic is discontinued by the manufacturer???!!! Re-release it, PLEASE! oh yeah, and release the damn Wonder Years on dvd, too, while you're at it. :)

I really, really wanted to love this movie. Being from Ohio and knowing lots of folks who played music in its bars, I was hoping for far more than what I found in LIGHT OF DAY.

The biggest problem I had was casting: Michael J. Fox, looking to shed his Marty McFly and Alex Keaton image, never convinces me that he's a hard-rocking bar buster from Cleveland. I always thought Keifer Sutherland could've pulled it off better.

But I love Joan Jett in this movie. I believe every frame of her performance. The scene where she explains to Fox why she's into music (while ridiculing the posers frying out on drugs nearby) is great.

I thought the identity of the father of her child was a cop-out and detracted from the drama of the final scenes.

LIGHT OF DAY is still a cool 80's movie. Filmed in Cleveland. Snapshots of Midwest living. And I liked how the band, at their day job pressing commerative plates, see the times change with each changing image from their presses.

I just wish it was what it was shooting for.

Joan Jett and a glimpse of a very young Trent Reznor! ROCK!

Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett were fantasatic together as brother and sister in a struggling band called the Bar Busters.

I recommend this movie for anyone who is into rock and roll....and also who likes drama films. i thought the songs in the movie were excellent and they also have the movie soundtrack for it, which im going to buy. One more reason why I love this movie is because its taken place in the 80's. The 80's rule !!!!!!!