Garage Band Dreams

In 1987, Joan Jett was one of the biggest names in rock music. With songs like I Love Rock N Roll and Crimson And Clover, she was dominating the music charts. And like many musicians before and after her, the next logical step was cinema. Today, I look back at another film deserving of the dvd or blu ray treatment, Light Of Day.

Jett plays Patty, one half of the sibling fronted garage band The Barbusters. Michael J. Fox plays her brother Joe. The two spend their nights belting out tunes in smoky, dive bars barely making peanuts. Days are spent at blue collar jobs. Patty is a single parent, much to the disapproval of her religious mother, Gena Rowlands. Patty hasn't given up on the dream that their band will someday hit the bigtime. Joe however is based in reality and looks at the band as more of a fun hobby. He spends his days working at a mill and his free time is spent taking care of Patty's son.

Paul Schrader directs this with the same lower income grittiness that he brought to Blue Collar. This is one of the more realistic looks at bar bands. The cast is really great. This is when Michael J. Fox was really trying to be taking seriously as an actor. He did this right before Bright Lights, Big City and Casualties Of War. He brings a lot of sympathy to his role. Gena Rowlands and Jason Miller are also superb in the roles of the parents. But this is truly Jett's show. Even though playing a rocker is the kind of role she could do in her sleep, she brings a lot of compassion to a character who isn't always likable.

The theme song performed by Jett and Fox was written by the boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. And it rocks!

This is a great movie that shows the less glamorous side of the music biz. Check it out if you can find it.