AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MOVIES WITH EXCEPTIONAL SOUNDTRACKS Part 1
It’s taken me longer than expected to get back to my blog for numerous reasons, but mostly because I excel at procrastination. Oddly enough, the Census Bureau gave me an unpaid two-week vacation this spring, which left me with a lot of free time and nothing to do but write or clean out my basement. Since I had no intention of doing the latter, I chose to do the former and recommenced writing about movies. The first entry is a two-part series which focuses on autobiographical movies that have outstanding soundtracks.
Movies have used music to move plots along since the early
1900s. Originally, filmmakers would borrow already existing pieces and have a
pianist or even a full orchestra perform while the film ran. Finally, in 1923 The
Thief of Baghdad introduced a new concept, the original score.
Subsequently, composers frequently created fresh music to enhance storylines,
and audiences found themselves enthralled by iconic productions like The
Wizard of Oz, Top Hat, and Gigi. Later, moviemakers began
putting Broadway musicals on film, notably Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your
Gun (1950), Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate (1953), Rogers’ and
Hammerstein’s South Pacific (1958), and George Gershwin’s Porgy and
Bess (1959). This trend continued into the 1960s and 1970s with Westside
Story (1962), My Fair Lady (1964), The Sound of Music (1965),
and Fiddler On the Roof (1971). The 1970s also provided a new musical
genre called a rock opera and after spending some time on Broadway Jesus
Christ Superstar (1973), Godspell (1973), the Rocky Horror
Picture Show (1975), and Hair (1979) all moved from the stage to the
big screen. Rock opera Tommy (1975) by British band The Who, was
performed onstage in London, but is best known in the United States as an album
that became a movie as it didn’t appear on Broadway until 1993.
https://petetownshend.net/musicals?view=article&id=78:tommy-stage-productions&catid=15:musicals
The 1970s also introduced movies that used popular music
rather than original scores. At the forefront was American Graffiti.
Released in 1973, the film is set in the 1960s, with high school graduates
celebrating a final night together before going their separate ways. The
accompanying soundtrack has songs by artists like Bill Haley and the Comets,
Dell Shannon, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry. For some reason, it took another
decade for The Big Chill (1983) to use the same technique to tell a
story about a group of former college friends that gather to bid goodbye to a
classmate who committed suicide. The list of hits includes “My Girl” and
“Ain’t too Proud to Beg” by the Temptations, “Second That Emotion” by the
Miracles, “Good Lovin’” by The Rascals, and “Joy to the World” by Three Dog
Night. Because audiences had a positive response to the format, film studios
began to put out a plethora of movies using the same formula. Some also
contained original compositions like “Don’t You Forget About Me” in The
Breakfast Club, “Melt With You” in Valley Girl, and “Take My Breath
Away” in Top Gun. Others, like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Last
American Virgin, and Say Anything, all of which I’ve discussed
previously, chose to use tunes that were already well known.
Another musical genre that has been around for a long time
is the biography of a musician. The first, a 1934 British film entitled Waltzes
From Vienna, told the story of Johann Strauss, and was directed by none
other than Alfred Hitchcock. Shortly thereafter, the industry made movies
showcasing Schubert, Chopin, Mozart, and many others. In fact, one of my
all-time favorites is Immortal Beloved (1994) which intertwines Beethoven’s
compositions with his love life. Not everyone enjoys classical, however, so in
the 1940s films about pop musicians started to appear in theaters. To name just
a few, there were Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942-George Cohen), Rhapsody
In Blue (1945-George Gershwin), and Night and Day (1946-Cole
Porter).
Since then, dozens of these stories have entertained
audiences including Your Cheatin’ Heart (1964-Hank Williams, Sr.), Funny
Girl and Funny Lady (1968 & 1975-Fanny Brice), Lady Sings the
Blues (1972-Billie Holiday), The Buddy Holly Story (1978-Buddy
Holly), Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980-Loretta Lynn), and we can’t overlook
What’s Love Got to do With It (1993-Tina Turner). Their popularity
continues and in the Twenty-First Century films like Ray (2004-Ray
Charles), Walk the Line (2005-Johnny Cash and June Carter), and Bohemian
Rhapsody (2019-Freddy Mercury) could still draw large audiences.
Another type of film that I think fits into this category is
the biography of someone besides a musician. In this two-part series, I discuss
four of these films. I start with Crooklyn and Almost Famous in
Part 1 then follow up with Outside Providence and Riding in Cars with
Boys in Part 2.
Crooklyn – 1994
This screenplay was written by Shelton (Spike), Joie, and
Clinque’ Lee, and is set in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of 1970s
Brooklyn where they lived. It is the story of Carolyn (Alfree Woodard) and
Woody Carmichael (Deltroy Lindo), their nine-year-old daughter Troy (Zelda
Harris), and their four sons Clinton (Carlton Williams), Wendell (Sharif
Rashad), Joseph (Tse-Mach Washington), and Nate (Chris Owings) during a
life-changing summer. In the opening scene, Lee introduces a neighborhood
primarily populated by African Americans and immigrants. While adults visit on
their stoops and kids play within spitting distance of glue-sniffing addicts,
the air rings with the sound of children’s laughter, Latin music, and a garbled
combination of English, Spanish, and Italian. In the background, the Stylistics
sing “People Make the Girl Go Round,” a song written specifically for the film.
The main character is nine years old Troy, who is both the
middle child and the only daughter. This has led her to be more mature than her
brothers and has taught her how to stand up for herself. Carolyn, a teacher, is
at work much of the time, Woody, a freelance composer, comes and goes as he
pleases, and the boys, with varying interests, are totally wrapped up in
themselves. Thus, Troy is the only one in the household that notices what goes
on from one day to the next. This is important because everything the audience
learns about the Troy's family is filtered through her singular perspective.
As the breadwinner and only responsible adult, Carolyn bears
a heavy burden. She tries to lean on her husband by asking him to take care of
day-to-day activities like paying the bills, and on her kids by assigning them
chores like washing the dishes. Without her there to police them, however, they
shirk their duties. For example, one night she returns from work to find her
husband gone, the dishes unwashed, the house a mess, and the children asleep.
What Woody is up to is anyone’s guess (she’ll get to him later) but she rousts
the kids, yelling, “This ain’t no plantation. I’m not a slave.” Even though it’s extremely late, she forces
them to get up and do their chores before they can go back to bed. Due to money
worries, she instructs the kids to conserve electricity, but when she’s not
around they turn on the television and watch The Partridge Family,
singing along with tunes like “I Woke Up In Love This Morning.”
It’s not clear what led to the family’s economic
precariousness. The Carmichael's own the apartment building where they live,
are surrounded by nice furnishings, and have tenants who pay rent. The only
clue is in one of Woody’s diatribes, where he declares that in the past, he
made enough money as a musician for Carolyn to be a stay-at-home mom and shop
at Bloomingdale's. He doesn’t say what happened to that career, only that he is
trying to compose jazz music to get back on top. His childish response to his
wife’s success is leaving the kids alone while he goes out drinking and
refusing to report when he withdraws money from the bank. He also blames
Carolyn for his lagging career, insinuating that she doesn’t give him the space
that he needs to create. The problem crescendos during an argument where Woody
pulls his wife out of the bed and drags her down the stairs while screaming
that he doesn’t get any respect. Fortunately, the kids intervene, after which
she kicks him out.
Since the boys and Woody have private agendas, it is no
surprise that Carolyn turns to Troy, her “Ladybug,” to keep her up to date on
what goes when she’s at work. Troy is unarguably close to her mother, even
copying her beaded braid hairstyle, but she loves her father despite his flaws,
and is more strongly affected by his absence than the boys are. At the apex of
the family’s tragedy, Troy becomes seriously ill, we aren’t told with what, and
Woody takes care of her. Her crisis mends her parent’s relationship, and
Carolyn allows Woody to move back in. Soon after, he finishes his composition
and schedules a concert, hoping that it will garner complimentary reviews and
bring him success. Then, just when they are feeling optimistic, the power
company shuts off the electricity because Woody failed to pay the bill.
Rather than letting it blow up into another fight, however,
he and Carolyn load the kids into their car and take them to stay with various
relatives. They drop Troy with her Aunt Song (Frances Foster) and Uncle Clem
(Norman Matlock) to spend the summer with her cousin Viola (Patriece Nelson),
who is of similar age. Age, however, is about the only thing the girls have in
common. An only child of well-to-do parents, Viola lives in a big house in the
suburbs, and raised to dress like a proper young lady and obey her mother. This
can’t be easy for the girl because Aunt Song is an ultra-religious,
temperamental, and closed-minded person who won’t stand for Viola to do
anything that might encourage her to think for herself. Thus, the only
television show the girl can watch is a religious kiddy program with an
entirely white cast and audience. She cannot listen to pop-music or play with
her mother’s dog, Queenie, and is only allowed to associate with girls from
other affluent conservative families. Aunt Song even attempts to upgrade Troy
by removing her braids and straightening her hair with a curling iron.
It is likely that Carolyn hoped Viola would be a good role model
for Troy, but Troy is the influential one. For instance, when Viola’s friends
spend the night, Troy starts a pillow fight, causing the girls to act up, and
Queenie to disappear. The next day is Troy’s tenth birthday, but instead of
celebrating with her niece, Aunt Song spends her time frantically looking for
the dog and snapping at everyone. Fortunately, Uncle Clem is a kind and patient
person, and he gives Troy her presents and delivers a letter that her mother
sent. In it, Carolyn catches Troy up on what’s been happening in Brooklyn,
including the disappointing news that Woody’s concert did not go well. Homesick
and appalled by her aunt’s behavior, Troy announces that she wants to go home.
At first, Viola tries to talk her into staying, but when Aunt Song finds
Queenie’s lifeless body jammed into the sofa bed where Troy sleeps, nothing is
going to stop her from sending her niece back to Brooklyn where she belongs.
When Troy’s plane lands, she is met at the airport by her
Aunt Maxine (Joie Lee) and Uncle Brown (Vondie Curtis-Hall) who take her to the
hospital where Carolyn is critically ill. After having experienced Viola’s
paltry existence, Troy has a new appreciation for her family and promises her
mother that she’ll do better. Carolyn dies a brief time later and Troy keeps
her promise by acting as an example to her brothers, and a stanchion for her
father. Rather than restoring the braids, she styles her hair in an afro and
instead of watching of The Partridge Family, she gathers with her
brothers in their mother’s bedroom to enjoy Soul Train. As the final
credits roll, the Crooklyn Dodgers’ sing about the dangers that plague
inner-city neighborhoods and warns that if they are pushed, they’ll push back.
Summary
As is true in so many of Spike Lee’s movies, Crooklyn
focuses on America’s marginal people, particularly immigrants, nonwhites, and
females, to examine how social problems like discrimination, unemployment,
substance abuse, and violence impact them. In a country where parents raise
boys to define themselves as superior to girls, Woody feels humiliation at
having to depend on his wife for everything and is filled with rage. He
responds by ignoring his responsibilities toward his children and physically
attacking Carolyn while demanding respect. The question is, is he talking to
his family, or to society at large?
Lee also contradicts a lot of the stereotypes that plague
people of color in the U.S. The Carmichael's are homeowners and Carolyn is a
college educated professional. Further, although he doesn’t have a paying
position right then, Woody has a history of being a successful musician and is
trying to carve out a new career based on that. Lastly, although not always
well-behaved, the kids don’t get high or belong to gangs. Still, Lee doesn’t
hide from reality, and some characters in the neighborhood do use drugs and
break the law.
As if the film is a canvas, Lee paints with music, using a
two-album soundtrack to illustrate what it was like to be a Black kid growing
up in Brooklyn in the 1970s. He draws from performers like Sly and the Family
Stone, The Jackson 5, Five Stairsteps, Stevie Wonder, The Stylistics, James
Brown, and many others. His choices tell people to respect themselves and
reminds them that even in the face of sadness, the future can be bright.
Finally, although most of the characters in the movie are disadvantaged, the
story really applies to people of all social strata who are confronted by
issues like marital discord, financial security, sibling rivalry, and the power
of role modeling.
Almost Famous – 2000
This screenplay, by Oscar winning screenwriter Cameron
Crowe, is loosely based on Crowe’s life, specifically his career as a music
critic for Rolling Stone Magazine. Thus, there are many similarities
between Crowe and the protagonist William Miller. For instance, both graduated
from high school early, had headstrong mothers who taught college, were friends
with music critic Lester Bangs, and started writing for Rolling Stone
while still in their adolescence. Even though it didn’t do that well at the box
office, the movie was nominated for numerous awards, including the best actress
for Kate Hudson, (who won at the Golden Globes) and best supporting actress for
Frances McDormand (who was nominated for a Golden Globe). Cameron Crowe won the
Oscar for best screenplay, and the soundtrack won a Grammy for Best Compilation
Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture.
The movie opens with an unidentified person rifling through
a drawer of memorabilia which includes ticket stubs from concerts, brochures
about musical groups, and a pen and room key from the Plaza Hotel in New York.
The film then transports the audience to the year 1969 in Santa Monica,
California. On a sunny afternoon as the Chipmunks sing about Christmastime,
Elaine Miller (Frances McDormand), a fiercely self-reliant college professor
and her equally independent eighteen-year-old daughter Anita (Zooey Deschanel)
are driving eleven-year-old William (Michael Angarano) home from high school.
The streets are crowded with surfers in swim trunks heading toward the beach
and girls wearing shorts and sleeveless dresses sauntering down the sidewalks.
Why? Elaine celebrates Christmas in September to avoid commercializing the
holiday. On this particular afternoon, the two women are in another battle over
Elaine’s stubborn resolve that all young people are drug addled delinquents and
Anita’s insistence that her mother’s attitude is stifling both of her children.
Their dialog is a familiar one in the Miller household and
will soon result in Anita deciding to move away and become a stewardess. As the
young woman is about to leave, she puts Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends
album on the turntable and declares that the song “America” explains why she
has to go. As the music plays, she, and her boyfriend Darryl (Jesse Caron)
carry her things out to his car. Before driving away, she tells William to look
under his bed because she left something that will set him free. What he finds
is a satchel full of albums including Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, Blonde
on Blonde by Bob Dylan, Blue by Joni Mitchell, II by Led
Zeppelin, and Tommy by The Who. Her gift doesn’t necessarily make her
brother free, but it does help him start authoring articles about contemporary
music that he submits to a local underground magazine for publication.
Four years later, fifteen-year-old William (Patrick Fugit)
feels he is ready to approach famous rock critic Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour
Hoffman) to ask for guidance in building his career. Lester recognizes
William’s name because the boy’s sent some fairly good articles to Creem magazine,
where Lester works as editor. He shares his philosophy of what it means
to write about music and musicians and ends with an offer for William to write
a thousand words on Black Sabbath, ending with a warning that rather than
trying to be cool, he needs to be “honest and unmerciful.” It takes a lot of
fast talking, but William convinces Elaine to let him attend the concert. As he
climbs out of the car, she repeats her oft heard mantra, “don’t take drugs.”
Her voice carries across the crowd of revelers, causing them to laugh, but
William, who is used to it, in unperturbed. He goes to the backstage door where
other journalists are entering, but the doorman shoos him away because his name
isn’t on “the list.” Unsure what to do, he’s just standing there when a group
of girls that call themselves the Band Aides show up. Leader ‘Penny Lane’ (Kate
Hudson) takes pity on William and escorts him inside, after which she leaves
him to his alone. The entire backstage is swamped with musicians, tuning up,
turning on, gossiping, and partying. Among these is handsome Russell Hammond
(Billy Crudup), guitarist from a fictional band named Stillwater. Russell takes
a shine to William and invites him to see them perform in L.A. adding that he
should bring Penny along.
When William completes his article, Lester publishes it. Ben
Fong-Torres (Terry Chen), editor of Rolling Stone Magazine, reads the
piece and is so impressed that he calls William and offers him a thousand
dollars for a three-hundred-word article about Stillwater when they play in
Tempe, Arizona. Speaking with a deep voice to sound like an adult, William
accepts the offer, then goes about the arduous task of convincing his mom to
let him go. After much gnashing of teeth, she agrees, a decision she will come
to regret.
It’s no surprise that Penny and the Band-Aids are already in
Tempe when William gets there. They accompany him inside, where he explains to
Russell that he was hired to write an article on them for Rolling Stone.
Flattered, Russell agrees to an interview as long as William makes the band
“look cool” then disappears with Penny. Although he has permission to interview
the band, however, no one wants to talk to him. Instead, the men make William
follow them around and while doing so, he senses tension in the group. It comes
to a head when manager Dick Roswell (Noah Taylor) brings in the new T-shirts
they ordered, and Russell is the only member featured. Obviously jealous, lead
singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee) complains that Russell’s looks “are becoming a
problem.”
Even though they’re at odds, however, the men all agree that
they need to avoid William. Instead, they keep putting him off by inviting him
to accompany them on their “Almost Famous” bus tour which goes from Tempe to
Topeka, to Greenville, to Cleveland, to Boston, and finally to New York. Determined
not to fail, William tags along, although this means he has to juggle both his
mother and his editor because he needs permission to remain on the tour from
her and needs extra money for room and board from him. One thing the band
cannot hide from William, however, is the relationship between Penny and
Russell. At the heart of the problem is Russell’s long-time relationship with
girlfriend, Leslie (Liz Stauber), who will join him in New York. Thus, in
public, the young man behaves very casually towards his pretty fan, telling
William that she knows the score so “no one is getting hurt.” Cognizant of
Russell’s dilemma, Penny pretends not to care, but it’s obvious that she’s in
love. Then, shortly before Stillwater heads to New York, Russell purposely loses
Penny to the band Humble Pie in a poker game, virtually trading her for $50 and
a case of Heineken beer.
Incensed, William tells Penny about Russell’s callousness.
Insisting that the guitarist really loves her, she says she’s coming to New
York because she knows he wants her there. Sure enough, when the group arrives
at the banquet that is set up for them at the Plaza Hotel, Penny appears. To
her dismay, Russell remains at Leslie’s side while taking surreptitious glances
at her. Realizing that what William told her is true, Penny returns to
her hotel, where she overdoses on Quaaludes and champagne. Fortunately, William
follows and walks in just before she passes out. He calls for a doctor, keeps
her awake until help arrives, and stands by as medical personnel pump her
stomach. The next day, Penny acknowledges that she’s been wasting her time and
goes back to California alone while the band, Leslie, and William catch a plane
home.
Feeling that the tour was a success, everyone seems happy
and relaxed until they fly into a massive rainstorm that threatens to down the
plane. Convinced that they’re all going to die, the men start confessing things
they have heretofore kept secret. Drummer Ed (John Fedevich) admits that he’s
gay, singer Jeff confesses that he slept with Leslie, and William tells Leslie
that Russell has been cheating on her with Penny. The pilot manages to steer
the plane out of danger, but the damage has been done and when they land a few
hours later, no one is speaking to anyone else.
William goes home with enough information to complete the article
but is unsure how to do it without harming the band members’ reputations. In
desperation, he calls Lester for advice. Lester starts out by reminding William
that he’s not supposed to be cool or worried about the musicians. They are not
his friends. They only let him accompany them because he represented Rolling
Stone. His obligation is to the magazine and its readers, who expect
honesty. “The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with
someone else when you’re uncool.”
William does as Lester suggests and tells the story as he remembers it,
including all the messy parts.
Ben Fong-Torres loves the article, but when his fact-checker
Alison (Erin Foley) talks to Russell, he denies it all. Angry, the
editor calls William, accuses him of lying, and threatens to sue to recoup all
the money the magazine spent on his venture. Meanwhile, Russell thinks back on
everything that happened, and starts to regret how he’s behaved. He calls Penny
and asks if he can come over, so they can talk. Without hesitation, she agrees
and gives him the address. He arrives at the house and rings the doorbell,
which is answered by Anita Miller, who has come home to mend fences with her
mother. She recognizes the musician instantly and invites him inside. Elaine
hears the commotion, bustles in to confront the young man, and then sends him
to William’s room to make things right. Russell is man enough to apologize to
William for lying to Rolling Stone, and says he already called and
admitted that every word of the article was true. Then, he encourages William
to call Penny because he knows she cares about him (was jealousy part of the
reason Russell gave William such a tough time?). In the end, Fong-Torres
publishes William’s article, the band gets it picture “On the Cover of Rolling
Stone” (It’s a song, look it up) and the group names the next tour “No More
Airplanes.”
A small aside, April 30th, 2022, is the 40th
anniversary of Lester Bangs’ death. He was thirty-three.
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/lester-bangs-truth-teller
Summary
Before he made this movie, Crowe produced Fast Times at
Ridgemont High (1982) and Say Anything (1989) both of which included
love triangles between a beautiful girl, a smooth-talking guy, and a socially
awkward boy. In the former, the trio consists of pretty (looking for love in
all the wrong places) Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh), lady’s man Mike
Damone (Robert Romanus), and inexperienced boy Mark ‘Rat’ Ratner (Brian
Backer), while in the latter, the beauty is brilliant Diane Court (Ione Skye)
who is caught between her charismatic father James (John Mahoney) who will “say
anything” to get his way and loser Lloyd (John Cusack) who makes a mess of
everything he does. In both cases, the obvious loser wins. (Although in my
opinion, it would be hard for a girl’s dad to beat out John Cusack standing in
the front yard blaring Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” from a boom box.)
Therefore, by the time he made Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe had
perfected this formula.
I asked myself, what is the significance of this theme for
Crowe? Well, for one, it is an excellent way for him to give raspberries to all
the cool guys who got the beautiful girls in high school. However, I think his
motivations are more mature than that. For one thing, the stories disparage a
society that values something as happenstance as looks while ignoring more
important qualities like intelligence or plain old everyday compassion. For
another, it suggests that when people constantly worry about their
shortcomings, they overlook their assets. I once heard someone say that most
people start the day by looking in the mirror to check for flaws, which means
that virtually every day starts out bad for everyone but vampires. However, as
good as they are, the plots of all three movies have a fundamental problem in
that they ignore the reality that females also have more to offer than
appearance. I mean, it only seems fair that if a man doesn’t have to be “cool”
a girl shouldn’t have to be “beautiful.”
As was true of Lee with Crooklyn, Crowe based Almost
Famous on his history. Like William, he skipped grades in school and
started working for Rolling Stone Magazine while still a teenager.
More than that, the groupies he hung out with, who called themselves The Flying
Garter Girls, had a member named Pennie Trumbull who referred to herself as
Pennie Lane. Even though the character in the movie spells her name differently
and is actually an amalgam of Pennie Trumbull, Bebe Buell, and Pamela De
Barres, it is clear that the years Crowe spent hanging out with musicians and
writing for Rolling Stone left a lasting impression.
Furthermore, like Lee, Crowe uses superb music to bring his
story to life. When we first meet William, he is eleven and represented by the
frivolous “Chipmunk Song”; then Anita and later Lester introduce him to some of
the best bands of the early 70s; Stevie Wonder’s “My Cheri Amour” plays as he
stands by while Penny has her stomach pumped, and the Beach Boys’ song “Feel
Flows” accompanies the final credits. In essence, then, Crowe uses music to
portray William growing from a boy who enjoys his comfortable naïveté, into a young man who
understands that life can be as bitter as it is sweet and as complex as it is
simple. This is not unlike Troy, who returns from Viola’s a much wiser person
than she was when she left. She takes charge of the motherless family, trades
her braids for a natural look, and joins her brothers in front of Carolyn’s TV
to watch, not the all-white “The Partridge Family,” but “Soul Train.”
Closing
In my next post, I’ll discuss Riding In Cars With Boys
and Outside Providence, which were also based on autobiographical
novels. The first is from the memoirs of writer Beverly Donofrio, who has
penned numerous books. The other is based on the life of Peter Farrelly who is
one of the most well-known movie directors today. Until then, I think you
should try to discover other cinematic biographies that have wonderful
soundtracks. I’ll get you started, Girl Interrupted. Peace out.
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