Reviewed by Doug Cooper
Stars Ian Bonar, Lyndsey Marshal, Kieran Bew, Mathew Baynton, Giles Maythan, Luke Rutherford, Matthew Sim, Ben Stratford, Trevor Sellers, Jennifer Aries, Brendan Hughes, Alan Bleay, Lee Whiteman
Written by Giles Borg
Certification UK TBC
Runtime 79 minutes
Directed by Giles Borg
20-something Stevie (Bonar) is a friendly, unassuming guy with a dead end job working in a call centre. He has dreams of being a rock star though and is a good guitar player and song writer. When he meets the older but not necessarily wiser Billy (Bew) at a gig, he asks the guitarist to join his band. Billy in turn brings in charming artist Emily (Marshal) to play bass and the line-up is now complete with Stevie's pal Neil (Baynton) on drums.
As they progress with rehearsals though, Billy being the more experienced musician starts to dominate aggressive and grumpily while Stevie falls for Emily, who already has a boyfriend. Will he continue to tolerate Billy's boorish behaviour as the big gig draws near or will he show signs of rebellion? Made on a very low budget, this plays like a cut price Commitments in some ways but it's not without charm. Bonar is a likeable lead, convincingly projecting his infatuation with subtlety and the interplay between the players is loose and natural, raising a few smiles, with Baynton's open face and mildly eccentric character getting the most laughs.
It lacks a climax but overall this minor and meandering Brit effort is persuasive enough to make you go along with it. Cheap and cheerful if you're not too fussy.