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November 2, 2003
Prey for Rock & Roll
Prey for Rock & Roll (IMDB) opens with a series of close-ups of Jacki (Gina Gershon), the lead singer of an all-girl rock band, as she gets ready for a concert in a dirty dressing room backstage at an LA music venue. She snaps on the requisite black bra and puts on way too much eyeliner, and the cheap lighting makes Jacki appear old and exhausted. We soon learn that Jacki is about to have her fortieth birthday, and she's about to give up on her dreams of rock-and-roll stardom. Of course, playing in a rock band is the only life she knows, and after one of her concerts, she gets a phone call from a promoter who might offer a recording concert and some good gigs.
I really enjoyed the film a lot, and I'm struggling with finding why I responded to it. In part, I think I simply needed a movie, particularly one that celebrated the escape from daily routine that rock music can offer. The shots of Jacki, wearing her rock-n-roll clothes in her mother's middle-class home convey her distance from that world.
The plot itself felt forced in a few places, especially the melodramatic elements, especially Tracy's self-destructive use of drugs and alcohol and a sequence dealing with the rape of one of the band members, but in general the performances carry the material pretty effectively (band members Gershon, Drea De Matteo, Lori Petty, and Shelly Cole were all very good), and the film wisely de-emphasizes the romance between Jacki and "Animal," the ex-con brother of one of the band members, focusing instead on the women practicing and playing together, on rock-n-roll itself.
The film was based on a play by Cheri Lovedog, a musician based in LA, who also wrote the music performed by the band, and her enthusiasm for rock-n-roll provides the film with its power.
Update (11/2, 10:15 PM): I think that one of the things I enjoyed most about Prey was the ability of the film to engage with the politics of rock, least on a superficial level. The critique of the exploitative music industry wanna-be is pretty effective, and the band's music consistently reinforces a critical edge. I think, more than anything, I enjoyed seeing interesting actresses (Gershon and Petty are among my favorites) in interesting roles. I liked the energy of the film, plus it gave me an excuse to go back to my favorite movie theater.
Posted by chuck at November 2, 2003 1:16 AM
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Comments
I haven't yet seen the movie cuz I don't know where to find it but I bought the soundtrack to it the other day and it's awesome. Buy it!
Posted by: Shannon at January 6, 2004 10:06 AM
I certainly enjoyed the music in the film, so I'll keep an eye out for the soundtrack when I'm in a record store (which, I have to admit, doesn't happen often). I'm guessing the movie will hit video stores soon--hope you get to see it.
Posted by: chuck at January 6, 2004 12:03 PM
I LOVED this movie... i would love to buy the soundtrack which i most likely will... it was an awesome movie..
Posted by: Ceri at September 26, 2006 10:22 PM