Prey for Rock & Roll

Last updated

Prey for Rock & Roll
Prey for Rock & Roll FilmPoster.jpeg
Film poster
Directed byAlex Steyermark
Written byCheri Lovedog
Robin Whitehouse
Based onPrey for Rock & Roll
by Cheri Lovedog
Produced by Gina Gershon
Alexis Magagni-Seely
Donovan Mannato
Gina Resnick
StarringGina Gershon
Drea de Matteo
Lori Petty
Shelly Cole
CinematographyAntonio Calvache
Edited byAllyson C. Johnson
Music by Stephen Trask
Production
company
Prey LLC
Distributed byMAC Releasing
Release dates
  • January 20, 2003 (2003-01-20)(Sundance)
  • October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)(United States)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million [1]

Prey For Rock & Roll is a 2003 American drama film written by Cheri Lovedog and Robin Whitehouse. The film, which stars Gina Gershon, Drea de Matteo, Lori Petty, Shelly Cole, and Marc Blucas, follows the story of Jacki and her all-girl punk rock band, Clam Dandy. The film is adapted from a semi-autobiographical play of the same name by Lovedog, who founded an LA punk band in the 1980s.

Contents

The film had its world premiere at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and was given a limited release on October 3, 2003.

Plot

Jacki, the frontwoman for Clam Dandy, an all-girl punk rock band in Los Angeles, is on the verge of turning forty. The band, which includes bassist Tracy, lead guitarist Faith, and drummer Sally, has been scraping by for over a decade without managing to land a good record deal. Jacki must decide if she wants to keep plugging away at dreams of stardom, or to throw in the towel and devote herself full-time to the tattoo parlor where she works. Along the way, the women are rocked by personal tragedies that threaten to break up the band before they can get their last shot at success.

Cast

Production

Cheri Lovedog wrote the stage musical Prey for Rock & Roll based on her own experiences fronting the punk band Lovedog, who opened for groups like Jane’s Addiction, Hole, L7 and X in the 1980s and early 1990s. [1] [2] The musical was staged in the summer of 2000 at New York's CBGB club. [1] For the film adaptation, Lovedog did not want actresses to lip-sync to another singer's vocals. Director Alex Steyermark, who had previously served as the music supervisor for films like Malcolm X and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, [3] suggested Gina Gershon after seeing her perform on Broadway in a revival of Cabaret . [1]

Gina Gershon did all of her own singing in the film and also came on board as a producer. [1]

Joan Jett was a consultant on the film and gave Gershon guitar lessons, [4] but ended up leaving the production after a pay dispute that culminated in a lawsuit. [5]

Filming began on May 16, 2002 in Los Angeles. [4]

Release

The film first screened at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. [6] That March, it was acquired for distribution by MAC Releasing [3] and was given a limited theatrical release beginning October 3. [7]

To promote the film, Gershon went on an eight-city tour with a backup band and sang a mix of songs from the film, covers, and her own material. [1] The tour was documented for the 2004 six-part IFC reality show, Rocked with Gina Gershon. [8]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 57% approval rating based on 49 reviews. [9] On Metacritic, Prey for Rock & Roll has a weighted average score of 48 out of a 100 based on 18 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [10]

Reviews praised the film for capturing "the flavor of band life", [11] as well as Gershon, [12] [13] with Stephen Holden of The New York Times writing, "Ms. Gershon's hot-wired performance infuses Prey for Rock and Roll with a bracing charge of authenticity." [14] In a review that gave the film a "B" grade, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called the film "ingratiatingly scrappy" and said "there’s a tough and appealing vitality to the way that it embraces the petty ego-tripping and party-down squalor of the rock lifestyle and stands apart from it at the same time." [12] Ronnie Scheib of Variety commended the film's "totally lived-in smart-mouth dialogue and...wicked sense of humor." [15]

Praise was also given to Lori Petty, who Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said "brings an engaging, quirky humanity", [11] Drea de Matteo, and Shelly Cole. [16] Loren King of the Chicago Tribune appreciated the film's view into the rock music scene from a woman's perspective, writing it "allows the actresses to rock out in rehearsals and on nightclub stages in a believable way, creating an authentic band dynamic fraught with complex relationships to the music--and to each other." [16] King also noted "Jacki's anything-goes sexuality (she dates both a woman and a male ex-con) is part of her restless, spirited character, not a gratuitous attempt to portray women rockers as wild and crazy." [16] [17]

King concluded the film is ultimately "about survival--but it's also about doing what you were born to do (and, as Petty's character puts it, the only thing you know how to do.) It's a raw and raucous rock story that, for once, gets the big picture and the small details right." [16]

Criticisms centered on some of the subplots as melodramatic and clichéd. [14] [16] [18] Some opinions were also divided on the music of the film; while some critics said Gershon "[delivers] the goods with a strong, husky voice and style to spare", [15] and that the songs are "better-than-average punk anthems in late 80's style", [14] others said "the musical numbers are the only real drag on this otherwise odd and appealing picture." [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gina Gershon</span> American actress

Gina L. Gershon is an American actress and singer. She has starred in such films as Cocktail (1988), Red Heat (1988), Showgirls (1995), Bound (1996), Face/Off (1997), The Insider (1999), Demonlover (2002), P.S. I Love You (2007), Five Minarets in New York (2010), Killer Joe (2011) and House of Versace (2013). She has also had supporting roles in FX's Rescue Me and HBO's How to Make It in America. She also portrayed Jughead's mom Gladys Jones on The CW teen drama series Riverdale and Lauren Bloom's mom Jeanie Bloom on the NBC medical series New Amsterdam.

<i>Bound</i> (1996 film) 1996 American film by the Wachowskis

Bound is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by the Wachowskis in their feature film directorial debut. Violet, who longs to escape her relationship with her mafioso boyfriend Caesar, enters into a clandestine affair with alluring ex-con Corky, and the two women hatch a scheme to steal $2 million of Mafia money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Runaways</span> American rock band from Los Angeles

The Runaways were an American all-female rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", "Hollywood", "Queens of Noise" and a cover version of the Velvet Underground's "Rock & Roll". Never a major success in the United States, the Runaways became a sensation overseas, especially in Japan, thanks to the single "Cherry Bomb".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Jett</span> American rock musician (born 1958)

Joan Jett is an American rock singer, guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for founding and performing with the Runaways, who recorded and released the hit song "Cherry Bomb". With the Blackhearts, Jett is known for her rendition of the song "I Love Rock 'n Roll" which was number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in 1982. Jett's other notable songs include "Bad Reputation", "Light of Day", "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and her covers of "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Wanna Touch Me " and "Dirty Deeds".

An all-female band is a musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed. While all-male bands are common in many rock and pop scenes, all-female bands are less common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drea de Matteo</span> American actress (born 1972)

Andrea Donna de Matteo is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Adriana La Cerva on the HBO television drama The Sopranos (1999–2006), for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2004. Other notable roles include Gina Tribbiani on Joey (2004–2006), Wendy Case on Sons of Anarchy (2008–2014), Angie Bolen on Desperate Housewives (2009–2010), and Detective Tess Nazario on Shades of Blue (2016–2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Blucas</span> American actor

Marcus Paul Blucas is an American actor. Prior to his acting career, he played college basketball with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He had his first starring role as soldier and love interest Riley Finn on the WB supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 1999 to 2000, and later starred as football team manager Matthew Donnelly on the USA drama series Necessary Roughness from 2011 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls Against Boys</span> American post-hardcore band

Girls Against Boys is a post-hardcore band which formed in Washington, D.C., and subsequently relocated to New York City shortly after their formation in 1989. The band released albums on the labels Adult Swim, Touch and Go Records, Geffen Records, and Jade Tree from 1990 to 2002. The band then sporadically played shows from 2003 until 2009 when they became inactive as a whole. In 2013, Girls Against Boys briefly toured and self-released their first new material in 11 years. After another hiatus in 2017, they reunited for a longer term in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kïll Cheerleadër</span> Canadian rock band

Kill Cheerleadër was a Canadian rock band whose members formed in 1999 in Toronto. Mainly influenced by punk rock and heavy metal acts such as The Stooges, early era Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, the Ramones, Girlschool, Joan Jett and Neil Young, they had crafted their own unique, sleazy style of rock 'n' roll, once being described as "a derailed train hitting a Baptist Church". Lemmy from Motörhead described Kill Cheerleader as the "greatest rock n' roll band since Guns N' Roses."

Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced at the end of one of Tom Petty's songs "What're You Doin' In My Life?" As of 2014, Yakus was chief engineer of AfterMaster Audio Labs and Recording Studios, a recording firm he co-founded with Larry Ryckman, who is its CEO. Yakus is also vice president of Studio One Media, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen McCookerybook</span> British musician and singer-songwriter

Helen McCookerybook is a British musician and singer-songwriter, who was the bass player and co-singer with The Chefs, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. She went on to form Helen and the Horns in the mid 80s. Both bands were admired by John Peel, recording six BBC Radio 1 sessions between them. After a long break from her music career, Helen McCookerybook started again as a solo artist in 2005. She regularly plays live gigs, releases recordings, and promotes occasional revivals of Helen and the Horns.

Shelly Cole is a former American actress.

<i>Runnin Down a Dream</i> (film) 2007 film by Peter Bogdanovich

Runnin' Down a Dream is a 2007 documentary film about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The 4-hour documentary chronicles the history of the band, from its inception as Mudcrutch, right up to the 30th-anniversary concert in Petty's home town of Gainesville, Florida, on September 21, 2006, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, University of Florida. The film features interviews with George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Jeff Lynne, Rick Rubin, Johnny Depp, Jackson Browne and more. Petty's solo career is also touched on, as is his time with The Traveling Wilburys.

Susan Hyatt is an American singer, songwriter, and recording artist. She is the lead vocalist and co-founding member of the alternative pop-rock bands: Stimulator, Pillbox, Sizon & Glitter Symphony, and Sirens of Soho.

<i>The Runaways</i> (2010 film) 2010 film by Floria Sigismondi

The Runaways is a 2010 American biographical drama film about the 1970s rock band of the same name written and directed by Floria Sigismondi. It is based on the book Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by the band's lead vocalist Cherie Currie. The film stars Dakota Fanning as Currie, Kristen Stewart as rhythm guitarist and vocalist Joan Jett, and Michael Shannon as record producer Kim Fowley. The Runaways depicts the formation of the band in 1975 and focuses on the relationship between Currie and Jett until Currie's departure from the band. The film grossed around $4.6 million worldwide and received generally favorable reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Love Rock 'n' Roll</span> 1975 single by the Arrows

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of the same name, became Jett's highest-charting hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the No. 3 song for 1982. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing two million units shipped to stores. Jett's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tré Cool</span> American drummer (born 1972)

Frank Edwin Wright III, better known by his stage name Tré Cool, is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Green Day. He replaced the band's former drummer, John Kiffmeyer, in 1990. Cool has also played in the Lookouts, Samiam, Dead Mermaids, Bubu and the Brood and the Green Day side projects the Network and the Foxboro Hot Tubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in punk rock</span> Womens music history


Women have made significant contributions to punk rock music and its subculture since its inception in the 1970s. In contrast to the rock music and heavy metal scenes of the 1970s, which were dominated by men, the anarchic, counter-cultural mindset of the punk scene in mid-and-late 1970s encouraged women to participate. This participation played a role in the historical development of punk music, especially in the US and UK at that time, and continues to influence and enable future generations. Women have participated in the punk scene as lead singers, instrumentalists, as all-female bands, zine contributors and fashion designers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in rock</span>

Women in rock describes the role of women singers, instrumentalists, record producers and other music professionals in rock music and popular music and the many subgenres and hybrid genres that have emerged from these genres. Women have a high prominence in many popular music styles as singers. However, professional women instrumentalists are uncommon in popular music, especially in rock genres such as heavy metal. "[P]laying in a band is largely a male homosocial activity, that is, learning to play in a band is largely a peer-based... experience, shaped by existing sex-segregated friendship networks. As well, rock music "...is often defined as a form of male rebellion vis-à-vis female bedroom culture."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Stadium Tour</span> 2022 tour by Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe

The Stadium Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by English rock band Def Leppard and American rock band Mötley Crüe, taking place in the summer and fall of 2022 in venues across North America. Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts served as the tour's special guests, while Classless Act was the opening band. It was Mötley Crüe's first major tour in seven years, and Def Leppard's first in three years, with the latter touring in support of their twelfth studio album Diamond Star Halos.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chautard, Andre (September 24, 2003). "'Preying' for a break". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Let Us Prey". Metro Santa Cruz. May 28, 2003. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Brooks, Brian (March 19, 2003). "MAC Releasing Wants to "Prey" in North America". IndieWire. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Kit, Zorianna (2002). "Gershon, Jett Bring the 'Rock'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Joan Jett sues Prey for Rock & Roll". The Advocate. November 1, 2002. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  6. ↑ Strickman, Andrew (January 24, 2003). "Guns n' Roses Alums Regroup". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Prey for Rock & Roll Movie Preview, Starring Gina Gershon and Drea de Matteo, Directed by Alex Steyermark". Box Office Prophets. September 29, 2003. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  8. ↑ Cohn, Angel (April 12, 2004). "How Reality Rocked Gina Gershon". TVGuide.com. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Prey for Rock and Roll (2003)". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster . Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Prey for Rock & Roll (2003)". Metacritic . Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 LaSalle, Mick (October 3, 2003). "Film Clips / Also opening today" . Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  12. 1 2 Gleiberman, Owen (October 23, 2003). "Prey for Rock & Roll". Entertainment Weekly .
  13. ↑ Phipps, Keith (October 14, 2003). "Prey For Rock & Roll". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 Holden, Stephen (October 17, 2003). "Film in Review: 'Prey for Rock and Roll'". The New York Times . Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  15. 1 2 Scheib, Ronnie (May 12, 2003). "Prey for Rock and Roll". Variety .
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 King, Loren (October 24, 2003). "Rock film captures its 'Prey'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  17. ↑ Reddish, David (August 7, 2021). "Can't get enough 'Hedwig?' Time to rock out with queer 'Prey'". Queerty. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  18. ↑ Baumgarten, Marjorie (October 17, 2003). "Prey for Rock & Roll". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved August 11, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.