Imbibe Cinema
Imbibe Cinema swaps stuffy movie reviews for genuine film appreciation with themed libations. Hosts Jonathan C. Legat and Tricia Legat — along with a variety of special guests — pick a particular film they love for each episode and break down why it’s noteworthy while enjoying a drink specially selected to complement the movie. Listeners are encouraged to watch the subject of discussion, grab a delicious libation, and imbibe great cinema with us!
Imbibe Cinema
The Commitments
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The Imbibe Cinema crew discuss Alan Parker's The Commitments (1991), which features performances by Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Dave Finnegan, Bronagh Gallagher, Glen Hansard, Félim Gormley, Johnny Murphy, Dick Massey, Andrew Strong, Ken McCluskey, Colm Meaney, and more.
The featured cocktail for this post-screening discussion is The Irish Whiskey Ginger.
Jimmy Rabbitte, just a thick-ya out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey “The Lips” Fagan.
In this episode, Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival Operations Director Jonathan C. Legat (co-host) is joined by Cinema Centennial Program Director Tricia Legat (co-host), Executive Director Michael Noens (producer), and special guest Mary Shields.
Remember to imbibe responsibly! If you haven't seen 'The Commitments,' watch the film before you listen to the episode.
Looking for more episode content? Read the Episode Recap, including links to episode references and the ingredients for this episode's featured cocktail.
To begin your Imbibe Cinema membership through the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, visit imb.watch/membership.
Featuring Music by Soldier Story: "Bring Down the Money (Freedom)"
I can't get canceled by Catholicism. I'm a woman. I have no voice, therefore I can't blaspheme. Also, I'm responsible for all evil because, you know, Eve, damn it. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_04I see what you did there.
SPEAKER_01Greetings andor salutations and welcome to Imbibe Cinema. The Imbibe Cinema Podcast is brought to you by the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, otherwise known as Bwiff. We seek independent character-driven films of all lengths, styles, and genres. To learn more, visit BWIFF.com. I'm Jonathan C. Leggett, along here with my co-hosts Michael Noens.
SPEAKER_03Trisha Leggett.
SPEAKER_01And our special introduction guest.
SPEAKER_03Mary Shields. Woo! Well, introduction guest? What is an introduction? You're an introduction guest. No, like I'm just special. Did I not say introducing our special guest? No, you you said introducing guests. And I'm wondering if that's because she's the first guest of our next season.
SPEAKER_01There you go.
unknownI'm not that special.
SPEAKER_03Yes, just leave now.
SPEAKER_01Introducing our subpar guest. Watch. I'm I'm telling you, Mary, you're gonna you're gonna outpodcast us on our own podcast. And and and and uh it's okay. In this episode, we are gonna be discussing the Irish independent film The Commitments, uh uh which you can be uh which can be found on Redbox. Uh while we are uh doing this podcast, we are drinking a cocktail called the Irish Whiskey Ginger. The recipe as well as pictures uh are available on the website, imbibesinema.com.
SPEAKER_03And as you can tell, it is an effective cocktail. Yes, thank you, John.
SPEAKER_01Mine, uh as as Michael lovingly pointed out, we don't start the podcast until my first class is empty.
SPEAKER_03And we chose a fancy whiskey because I wanted it to be fancy. So we've never had this whiskey before. I don't think it calls for this specific whiskey.
SPEAKER_01No, it does not.
SPEAKER_03But but it's called Dublin Inc. And because the film takes place in Dublin, I thought, why not?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's great. Shout out to Benny's. Hopefully they'll give us free liquor.
SPEAKER_01Yes, free liquor or just five dollars off really. Hey, that'd be nice to be honest. And then Mary, this is your first time with whiskey in general. Yes, it is.
SPEAKER_04And it's great.
SPEAKER_01It is a I would totally drink uh cheers and drink more, but unfortunately. Um so just wait for the ice to melt and lick it.
SPEAKER_03Um don't worry, we'll have a break. You'll get another drink. Calm down.
SPEAKER_02Isn't it fancy ginger ale too? Yes.
SPEAKER_03Yes, it said premium ginger ale. So I got premium ginger ale.
SPEAKER_02Is that like top shelf ginger ale? Top shelf ginger ale.
SPEAKER_03It was on the top shelf. Oh no. It's teeny tiny. It is so to me that always speaks as more expensive and fancy because like when you get fancy food, it's always teeny tiny and a tiny. It's a French restaurant, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Right. All right, that's fair. All right. So um uh uh Mary, uh you are um uh Trisha's coffee buddy. Yes. And uh I uh you know, through numerous uh uh uh coffee uh imbibing, if you will, uh this particular topic came up as the commitments. Yes, it did. And so this was your nod and your throw into the ring. So what is it about the commitments uh that that uh immediately grabbed you and that that brought you in uh and and made you go, this is an independent film that needs to be discussed on a podcast.
SPEAKER_04I just think it is a fantastic movie, and it was one of the first movies that I saw where afterwards I wanted the soundtrack, and I don't think that was always a thing. Um, but for this movie for sure it was. And I remember when I saw it, um, there were some cool kids in my school. They were forming a band called the Running with Scissors Band. Yeah. Okay, and um that just seemed like I just thought that was the coolest thing. And I immediately fell for Jimmy, you know, um just that sort of everything about him and forming a band and belonging. That was it just really spoke to me.
SPEAKER_03Now the movie came out what year, 90. 919, and uh when did you see the movie like shortly after it came out?
SPEAKER_04Or were no, you know, my mom, who was always kind of in the know of things, saw I think she saw the cast like interviewed on the Today Show or something, or I don't know, but she said, You guys, we gotta watch this movie, so we rented it, and she brought it home. Isn't that great?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, way to go mine.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and then she bought us the cassette. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so she she made your your your dream come true then.
SPEAKER_03This is an informative years film.
SPEAKER_04Yes, very much so. So I have her to thank. And you to thank for taking a chance on this movie because it's really not. I uh it could be a cult classic, but it's really not.
SPEAKER_03Well, no, they say on Wikipedia, they say it is. Oh, do they? Oh, well. They say it has gotten a lot of and maybe more in Ireland than uh anywhere else.
SPEAKER_01Because I will say that that uh I, you know, after watching it or starting watching it, should I say, for the this particular podcast, it occurred to me that I had seen this before. My brother, who went to the University of Southern California for cinema arts studies, came home uh from college and was like, you need to watch this movie, and had rented it himself. He's a huge music person. He is also a huge music person.
SPEAKER_03He's the Jimmy of the family. Yes. Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01So, I mean, you know, this is not uh not my first foray into the commitments, and I agree that like even watching it back then, yeah, the the absolute music is fantastic. It it immediately makes you want to like toe-tap and enjoy. Uh, and they do such a great job of performing it. So they do. All right. Now I I have to also ask because um uh I'm about to throw a scrabble word down here uh that that Trisha Trisha had made fun of me for earlier. But uh she had also mentioned during all these coffee talks uh that uh you know she'd start mentioning a film that we were doing in the podcast, and you're like, oh, the composer for that, and you know, all this. She out moving me. Yes, you outmoved her. So I have to ask, you you know, you you seem to be a a cinephile. And that was the the the scrabble word.
SPEAKER_03He likes using the word file because he thinks it's funny, like Disnefile. And he thinks it's a cinophile?
SPEAKER_01Yes Well, I will say somebody who knows the composer for you know like a mission.
SPEAKER_03The mission is but but the mission referenced in the holiday. Correct. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Which we also did a podcast on.
SPEAKER_04But I've also seen The Mission, which is a other great movie. Yes. It's a different feel than that.
SPEAKER_01Oh, drastically different feel than uh But so so what you know what what you know you you seem to be uh an avid movie lover.
SPEAKER_04I yes, I'm an avid music lover.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_04And I yes, I uh my dad in particular could sing any song, any any genre, and I grew up listening to you know everything Sam Cook, The Doors, Chicago, I mean it just everywhere, all over the place. And so I think that's what draws me in. Okay. Yeah. That's wonderful. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03See, so now you're a resource that we are going to abuse. And be like, Mary, we're gonna call Mary. Mary, you need to know what about the music because I do. And only when Michael doesn't know, because Michael does know most music. And you he will he will listen to just um.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I listen to scores all the time. Yeah, all six discs in my CD changer in the car. Yes, I have a CD changer still in the car. Yeah. So I just realized they're all from the 90s. Like just the other day. I was like, wow, that's pretty fun.
SPEAKER_03And now we bring it back to the commitments.
SPEAKER_02It's just one of the many tangibles that our podcast brings. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04But I I feel like we should introduce the commitments the way Jimmy does, where he says, Oh, yeah, um, the saviors of soul, the hardest working band in the world. Yes, yes, yes, the commitments.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_03Now you had said, okay, so Jimmy likes to pretend that he's having an interview, that he's being interviewed by somebody in the bathroom or whatever. Military. Yes. And uh you had said, and we had just watched, we talked about this. I don't know if Michael started recording, but was it the um is it the uh the Dairy Girls? So they reference that. So that's on Netflix. And they reference, so it is a cult classic because there is a reference to it, or maybe just people in Ireland love to give interviews in the bathroom. I don't know.
SPEAKER_04Well, Dairy Girls takes place in Northern Ireland in the 90s, I believe. So I think it's not too far away from where those girls grew up. And yes, Aaron in the one of the opening scenes, she's in her bathtub just like Jimmy, and she's pretending to be interviewed.
SPEAKER_03Dude, I used to do that when I was but I was I had to be in the mirror. So with the hairbrush, you're so proud of it. Which I love.
SPEAKER_02Like, what are you doing in there? I'm being interviewed. Like, leave me alone.
SPEAKER_03I would be like exactly what you said. Nothing. I have no aspirations whatsoever. I'm doing nothing. Shut up, leave me alone. Where he's all like, no, I'm being interviewed. And they're like, Oh, Jimmy. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And I love the the way that it's uh edited together, where at times you you know, like you're seeing him interviewing himself. But there are points where I I'm I actually started to think, wait, is somebody else finally interviewing him? No, it's himself interviewing himself still, because we're like hanging on one scene before we move in to seeing him interviewing himself. It's uh yeah, I really enjoyed that throughout the whole thing.
SPEAKER_03But that level of confidence, he is so confident uh uh about music in general, what's good, what's bad. Yeah, and uh he never wavers, and then when he's talking up the band to any anyone, anyone, he is so good about talking up the band. Yeah, yeah. And you're like, God, that's what most of us are missing is that that PR guy that's like, no, they're the best. And then it doesn't like they self-destruct anyway.
SPEAKER_04Well, yeah, no, it was so self-evident what you're saying. Like in that um scene where the news or the music reporter is there, and I think Outspan is standing there, and when's your next gig, Jimmy? You know, and Outspan's like, well, we haven't, we don't have we don't schedule gigs, we just go where the people need a. I mean, Jimmy was like a spin artist there. Like he just was able to, I mean, it was phenomenal.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, like I want him to be like in your in your life and be, you know, your your wingman.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, everybody knows him. They're like, hey Jimmy, like, what's up, Jimmy? He knows where to get the black market shit. Like he knows he he knows, you know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it's uh yeah, he he manages to that there's a reason he doesn't do anything in the band is because he is constantly the the thing that is around and making sure that they are continuing. And it is it's a it's a shame because I mean, even they approach him saying, like, we need you to run because you're you're you're the guy, Jimmy.
SPEAKER_04And it's just sad that they're we're not married to it.
SPEAKER_01No. Do you think we should you think we should uh uh drop the who's like put capitalize the middle one?
SPEAKER_02Well was there something also about like uh seeing it on a poster or something? Like the way it was laid out? Yeah, like trying to sell it, get rid of the whole thing.
SPEAKER_03But he's very specific. It has to be the something because all the great bands in the 60s were the something something.
SPEAKER_04Yes. How do you spell it, T-H-E? Yeah. Yep.
SPEAKER_03It's a good one. Yeah, and then his father is all like if you need somebody, and uh the actor that plays his father immediately recognized him. He's a character actor, you've seen tons of things. Um, one of the Star Trek's Colmini. I don't know which of the Star Trek was it?
SPEAKER_01He was in, well, I think he was on uh um uh he was the Irish engineer. He's definitely on Deep Space Nine.
SPEAKER_03I thought that he was the Irish engineer versus the Scottish engineer. Yes. But he sings a whole bit in the beginning where he's like sings Elvis.
SPEAKER_04Well, can we just take a minute to talk about the epic montage scene that is the auditions? Yes.
SPEAKER_02Can we please talk about it because over, it's not over. It's another shout out, I think, for the editing. Like it it's really well crafted.
SPEAKER_03Which is awesome because the editing was nominated, I believe, for an Oscar that year. Okay. Um and the fact that it doesn't like there's a lot of tropes or formulas for a story about a band coming up, and and and this kind of you think it's gonna go a certain way, and then it surprises you. Like the audition process is not like what you think it's gonna be. Right. And uh and then the ending isn't what you think it's gonna be. No. So I I love that it takes it's feels more real.
SPEAKER_02And I did like that that the uh as you go through the there are some really bad auditions, and then there are actually some really good auditions that are just not at all what he wants, what he's looking for. Right. So it kind of felt really real um in that process. And his family is so supportive. Yes.
SPEAKER_03These people just show up at the door at all times.
SPEAKER_01But then how does he find each and every character? Because they all get introduced in their own unique, amazing.
SPEAKER_04The first two were part of and and and the wedding band. Derek and Outspan. Yep. Yes. Interesting name. Yeah, yeah. Derek and Outspan, yeah. And then Dean comes next, the saxophone. Dean the nip bone.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah, and Dean, doesn't Dean turn uh Dean turns um in like he starts they get him on a diet of soul. Because they all have to be on a diet of soul, right? And he gets it's like this, he loses his virginity with the saxophone.
unknownOh my god.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03Well that's because the lips tells him how. Right, but not in a like sexual way, not in an American pie way. But like he he like he gets taught how to how to use the saxophone and by thinking of it in a sexual manner, and he becomes this really great saxophone player from this sh shy guy that turns into all of a sudden like you know he's into jazz and he's got his own thing, and they're like, This is not that.
SPEAKER_01Stop stop stop doing that jazz.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but he's always sporting the bolo tie. Yes, I love the bolo tie and the and the mullet. He's committed to both of those. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um I improvise now, and they're like, nope, that's jazz. Stop it.
SPEAKER_02And then the the lead singer is that later? Oh, because I know we meet him and then we come back, right? At the wedding again.
SPEAKER_04He sees him at the wedding, Deco. And he's he's Declan. Yeah, but he's Deco a prick from the start. Yeah. And you just get a foreshadowing of that. He just systematically just kind of pisses off every other member of the band.
SPEAKER_03Right, and we all know we've that person, we've all worked with that person. And I find it very interesting that as talented as he is, and they all accept that he's very talented, that uh, and it's not easy. Like they show how like how many songs you have to sing and how often like you have to sing and all that work for your voice. Uh, and yet, like, nobody is ever fooled or seduced by his talent. Everybody in the band doesn't like him. Yeah, they all liked it. Nobody has ever liked him.
SPEAKER_04Well, you mentioned how he says he wants to put the band on a diet of soul. Yeah. And I wrote this down because I thought it was great. Do you remember what he says? Nuts. Okay. Yeah, I do remember it's on the train. It's on the train. He says James Brown for the growls, Otis Redding for the Moans, Smokey Robinson for the wines, and Aretha for the whole lot put together. Yep. I thought that was a great, great line.
SPEAKER_03Well, and he had talks about how music, there's so many different kinds of music, but soul music is takes you to a higher level. Oh, yeah. That it can sound like it's a simple story or a simple idea, but it is so profound that it moves you so intensely. And then how they're all like confused by James Brown, like he got hurt. Is he gonna come back? Oh, are they walking him off stage? No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01No, uh thinking they also specifically reference that it is the working man's music, and that that is why it is necessary in Dublin at that time.
SPEAKER_03And that northern Dublin specifically is that area. Um, and you see it in the uh in the background. You see the way the buildings are, how many dogs and children are running wild, like the burned out car. Yes.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_03And and you realize, okay, yeah. And and then they have had to be stereotypical, but they have a lot of children, and then they have the twins, and they're kind of creepy because they talk at the same time.
SPEAKER_02At the same time, all the time. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04It's funny, they have Elvis's picture above the Pope. Right. Did you notice that? And then this is God.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Elvis and and and the father is very passionate about Elvis. You don't disrespect Elvis in his house at all. But yeah, I love that. On the wall, there's like, I it was is it the Pope or is it Jesus? And then Elvis. It could be.
SPEAKER_04I think it was the Pope. Uh, but and then Joey, that character, Joey the lips fagan, he's sort of weirdly religious. There's a weird sort of spirit.
SPEAKER_02It's like a Buddhist vibe, right? What's the line that he says? Like uh that was one that like jumped up in the red way. Yeah, God sent me. The Lord sent me. The Lord blows my trumpet.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03See, where where that only takes He's like, actually, the priest down at this area, like he told me that you were looking. But then that means God sent me. Yes.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. What doesn't the dad say something funny like, uh, what did evil Knievel want? Yes. Rollsy words. God sent him, and then the dad says, on a effing Suzuki? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. See, his his character for some odd reason, and and this is gonna be a weird segue, so follow me for a second. Um, but reminds me of the Irishman from Braveheart.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_01In the sense that like he has that whole line where they're about to go into battle and he goes, you know, the Lord tells me, you know, the the Lord sent me, but he tells me I'm gonna be all alright. The two of you, though, he's pretty sure you're fecked.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's strange, strange pep talk, too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I know, right? But all right, so uh what let's let's uh trip back to the music here, because the soul was the soul of this film as well. Um I mean the there the the band's ability to to to play the music, uh to really bring the emphasis uh of of you know this for a for a bunch of white kids from Dublin, um, you know, is amazing because they do crush it um after the montage of them tripping all over themselves. But you know, I mean it it it is amazing watching them watch um and and then bring it to life.
SPEAKER_03Well, and that's another montage sequence, right? Is them learning how to be a band together and how to work together and uh and in the in a s uh an interesting atmosphere because I think they're like above a bar. A bar. And it's it's someplace that uh the owner is out of town.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so they can snooker. A snooker? Snooker? Snooker. Easy for you to say. No, it is. That's what they call it. I mean it's billiards, but they call it snookers. No, but I'm glad you brought that up because that is a great montage, and that's where they start developing the characters, right? Because they show each character. Billy's like drumming while he's on his blacksmith, you know, job, Derek's in the meat packing, you know, he's with the guitar. Yeah, they're all bringing it to work. Correct. And so you can kind of get a glimpse of each character that way.
SPEAKER_03Right, and they're like life outside of the music.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_03But then uh also to this, you see the interesting relationship the men folk have to the women because there are the commitmentets, uh-huh, the three of them. Um, and these girls, it's interesting how they interact with each other and how they interact with members of the band, and how everybody ends up with Jimmy. Not Jimmy, sorry, everybody secretly has a crush on Jimmy, some more than others. But Joey the Lips. Yeah, Joey the Lips, the Lips is like he sleeps with everyone.
SPEAKER_04But you know, Jimmy, that was a real shrewd move to get those girls, you know, to get those girls. They could sing, but it was also they the sex appeal. That was again showing how like brilliant of a manager he really was. Yes, you know.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Joey the lips is like much older than everyone else. Yes.
SPEAKER_04He helps Jimmy quite a bit, I think. He really does give him guidance.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. He's an even like a mentor character.
SPEAKER_02Jimmy like loses it. On him, he's still super calm and see the big picture, right?
SPEAKER_04Because he's been a member of well, supposedly he's been a member of another band, so he can see what it's supposed to be. Right.
SPEAKER_03Like they even reference like the Beatles. There's like uh there's a trumpet in the in one song, and I can't think of it off the top of my head all of a sudden, which is really sad. But it's very famous, trumpet. And they're like, oh no, that was that was Joey. And then also uh he references he played with B.B. King, yeah, uh, as well as like Miles Davis. Miles Davis, yeah. Um I mean, yeah, he's played with all the greats, which is why.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03And then who's the who's the famous person that comes to town? Wilson Pickett. Wilson Pickett. Yep. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Who actually did the music for the film?
SPEAKER_03It's funny.
SPEAKER_04Why are we laughing?
SPEAKER_03What am I not understanding? Because it's so meta.
SPEAKER_01It's it is it is it is the meta of it, though. Yeah. Because you don't see you never see him. Yeah, you can't get yourself written into your own.
SPEAKER_03Correct. Right. It's a little yeah, pat on the shoulder there. But at the same time, you don't see him ever. You hear he's talked about in his when his limo shows up, the driver talks to him, but you don't ever see him.
SPEAKER_01Correct.
SPEAKER_04Do you think Joey really talks to Wilson Pickett when he goes into that hotel?
SPEAKER_03That's one of those mysteries where you're like, Oh no. I know. But then the guy shows up. I mean he's late, but then that that's very musician-esque.
SPEAKER_00That's right.
SPEAKER_03Right? Um, so the fact that he actually showed up, it's like, was it because everybody told him? Was it because of the advertisements?
SPEAKER_01Because he did pre pre-advertise that Wilson Pickett would be there. Right.
SPEAKER_04Well, and Jimmy again, in his brilliant managerial role, he reached out to all of those different newspapers, media outlets, and got the story.
SPEAKER_03And so he might have gotten curious on his own. But then you think, okay, well, maybe maybe Joey's got like really real. But then at the end, his mom, which we've discussed, is very gray gardens. Yes. Well, very baby baby Jane. Baby Jane, yeah. Just a little, just there's not ever been she's not all there. She's a nice lady, but you know, something's missing. Yeah. And she says at the end that he's touring with somebody that's been dead for years. And so you're like, so we it leaves you wondering.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01Uh hold on a few more moments uh while we uh uh pour some more to imbibe after this. I don't know what was the weirdest puzzle of it was it was uh all the words jumbled. Uh we're gonna take a few moments uh to fill our glasses, so get ready to imbibe more after this. The Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival exhibits short and feature-length motion pictures that utilize story elements in a new and exciting way. Our official selections are a carefully assembled blend of imaginative, sophisticated, and full-bodied stories. This is what our name represents. Filmmakers can expect an intimate festival experience where their personal story is valued as much as the one projected on the big screen. You're listening to the Imbibe Cinema. I'm Jonathan C. Leggett. I am here along with Michael Nodes, Trisha Leggett, and special guest, Mary Shields. Uh, is this your favorite episode so far? Want to hear more? Please subscribe or follow us on all of your favorite podcast providers to get the new episodes as soon as we release them. Rate andor leave us a review to help the show reach a larger audience. Uh you can also follow Imbibe Cinema on Facebook. Not the Twitters. Not the Twitters.
SPEAKER_03You know what Jimmy would say. It's like it's we appear when we want to appear. Yeah. Where the podcast is called to be in that moment. When somebody needs to hear our podcast, that's where we will be.
SPEAKER_02There you go. Let's stick with that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I think there's a in terms of the movie, I I feel like there's a clear delineation of where you can start seeing things go bad for the commitments. Would you all agree with that? So, um, like the beginning beginning of the end. And I don't know what all you think is that point, or what do you think that point is?
SPEAKER_03I do think there's like if you you have to separate certain things compartmentalize and uh Jimmy uh does so, like he treats the band like they are the band, and it's not personal, it's professional. Where Joey is all like, I feel the music and God and everything, and I'm very spiritual, but I'm also gonna sleep with everybody. And that's part of one of the indestructible, yeah, one of the destructive forces is he didn't keep it professional.
SPEAKER_04Right. I mean, I I made a note is collaborating with Joey a good thing or a bad thing? You know, I felt like and it could have it could be it could have been both.
SPEAKER_03And is he that guy in every band that he's in?
SPEAKER_02Well, and that's maybe why he's gone through so many. Correct. I was gonna say Joey. I feel like Joey was 100%. I can't pinpoint the exact moment, so I was just gonna go with the the moment that Joey is in the band is probably where things start going. But if it wasn't for Joey, it would have been Deko.
SPEAKER_03Deco would have time bomb going up because his ego is getting bigger and bigger. Yeah, and or it's uh jazz guy, which I well the foreshadowing was with the the first drummer leaving because of Dekko.
SPEAKER_04So already you have this like you know, um, and then I feel like when Deco talks to um the piano player about his offer or whatever, and that just starts this cascade of chaos of like you remember that part? Right, yeah, like it just yeah. And yes, I have the the jazz haircut is also a problematic part.
SPEAKER_03Right, and I think it's like just when they're about to take it up to the next level, yes, just when they're about to get recognized and and and get that, that's when they all start to like it starts to fall apart. And that's what's so tragic, but it's so common there's so many people who end up like just that close to they could have gone on to have this great career. They're so talented, you know, and it all just it yeah, it's like so many people get there. I'm sorry to interrupt you. Go ahead, Mike. No, actually, I was interrupting you. Apologies. Yeah, it's fine.
SPEAKER_02Mm interrupting cow? Yep.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. Thank you for following me on that one.
SPEAKER_03I'm like, move over butter. That's a right guy.
SPEAKER_01That is But yes, no, I I I I 100% agree that it is uh uh Joey specifically sleeping, not necessarily with the first of the commitment at s uh, but I think specifically once he sleeps with the second, that it really because you know Joey's nature shows itself for what it is, and while he is I think one of the driving forces as to why they are rising so quickly, you know, he is a very good at what he does, um, but he has also done this before. He's been with professional bands, supposedly. Um and so I I you know it's it's it's his nature, unfortunately, that I think I mean it's it's it's really all of them, but that is the quintessential moment. Quintessal quint yeah quintessential? There we go.
SPEAKER_03And then of course the girls all take it out on each other and uh Correct. Not the man. Right. Doesn't make any sense.
SPEAKER_04Right. And Joey himself is just this sort of picture of what life is like once you've had your fame and it's gone. Right? Yeah. Like a has been, just use like an overused term, but he's kind of a right, yeah, and he's he's over the hill.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And he's also not the lead of anything. Being a trumpet, he is the backup. And so that's why he can go from band to band and never be noticed and never be known because he's not the lead singer, he's not the lead guitarist, he's not the you know, the the the person who gets noticed all the time.
SPEAKER_03But also he seems like that surfer, that old surfer dude who's like, I'm searching for the next wave. Yeah, you know, like that kind of deal.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_04When they play that last gig, you know, when they're waiting for Wilson Pickett and he doesn't show, um I just feel that is just so sad. You know, they go backstage and they're just like the absolute worst versions of themselves backstage. And you know, you kind of get a glimpse during that gig of what they could have been because they were really rocking that that gig. They were doing really well, and then it just all falls apart. It's sad.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. But I do love that Jimmy, you still see like Jimmy's night, he'll be fine.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Because he would be the one character that I'd be worried about. Like he had all this confidence, and you feel like, yeah, oh no.
SPEAKER_01But he, you know, well, they do the 80s credit montage.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, what where are they now? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And then, you know, again, because of the fact that the band broke up, he can date. Or I mean he ends up getting married.
SPEAKER_04I think they imply that he's ha he has a relationship with Natalie. I don't know. I don't I don't like that part of the movie because it's like you know, they all they all just go about their lives and but but in a way, I guess that shows that Jimmy did succeed, right? Because he wanted soul, like you said earlier, lifts you up to a higher place, it shows you what things could be, and Jimmy gave them all that opportunity. Right, and you know, and they all had it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, at least once. Right, and because like we have this idea that um that kind of thing is only meaningful if it's sustainable, right? You're only it's only if you're famous, only if you uh you make so much money and you can do that for so long, is it uh worth anything when if you have that great moment, then you can say, Well, I did that. And because I did that, look what else I can do. What other doors will open because I had this moment and it shouldn't be something that you're like, well, it only means something because no, they all got to have that great moment where they came together and they did this beautiful thing, and yes, it exploded. But hopefully they've learned something.
SPEAKER_02That's kind of even like wrapped up in that moment with Joey, right? Where he he says, that's not what this is about.
SPEAKER_04Oh, he says, This is a great quote, and I'm so glad you brought it up because and I wrote this down, he says that the success of the band was irrelevant. You raised their expectations of life, you lifted their horizons. Sure, we could have been famous, but that would have been predictable. This way it's poetry. Yep. Thank you for bringing that up, Michael. That was like beautiful, absolutely the best. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03That was very Ted Lasso. Not there to win. No, but seriously, anything that can uh like improve, you know, humanity is always a good thing.
SPEAKER_04And then he quotes that uh song, the we skip the light fandango, da da da da da. Yeah. Yeah. And then he says, What does that mean? And he says, Fuck if I know Terry. So uh and yes, he'll be alright. You can tell, like Jimmy's gonna be up there. He's still giving interviews. He's still giving interviews. It's gonna be fine.
SPEAKER_01Well, I mean, technically all of them are fine as long as you take them out of the context of the rest of the community.
SPEAKER_03And I think I think there's something about that that we can take with us that instead of like, you know, listening to certain kinds of music that are as not like or I'm taking you away from the music that we've talked about, but like the um kind of like meditation stuff that we listen to to calm down, or all the um all the apps we have for mindfulness and all that to try and find our peace and stuff. I think we should all be interviewing. We should all be interviewing ourselves. Oh, for sure. Like five minutes a day, give yourself a nice interview about how amazing you are, or what you've just done, and or any situation you've just been in, and be like, this is how we got through it. That's an awesome thing to do. I think that would perk up anybody's day. Interview yourself, folks. That's what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_04Ask yourself the tough questions. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Like the rolling stones. And just see what comes out. I mean being honest with yourself. Yeah, the Beatles of the Rolling Stones At the bottom of the glass, there's always something profound. It's a good drink.
SPEAKER_02So critic reviews. Uh there were 49 critic reviews for this movie. Um, 44 of them are fresh. It has a 90%, um, and only five were rotten. And the five, some of them are rotten really without um any highlight uh to provide. I mean, you can read the full article, but we just kind of cover the the um snapshot. And so uh here's the one. Um, this is from Film Freak Central.
SPEAKER_04I think the best part of this sec segment is the names of the people who comment. You're not wrong. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02You are no Freak Central.
SPEAKER_04Lay it on us. Let's hear it.
SPEAKER_02Groundwork for the Full Monty school of condescending films about noble blue-collar Western Europeans who like their beard dark and their unemployment light.
SPEAKER_03Wow, that's very specific. I didn't know that was the genre. Apparently.
SPEAKER_04The full Monty, that's Billy Elliott films. What?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the Full Monty School of Condescending Films.
SPEAKER_03Oh. What? So funny because it sounds condescending. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04That I totally forgot about the Full Monty. It's that same feel. And um Full Mull. Full Monty came out after late 90s?
SPEAKER_02I think after the command. So that's interesting. They must have seen this and reviewed it late afterwards, because otherwise, why would you make that right? Yeah. Why would you compare it to something that came out six years later?
SPEAKER_03Because they're an Oracle.
SPEAKER_04I love the part. I'm just gonna start talking about parts I love because Yeah, do it. Yep, that's okay.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So I absolutely I'm gonna come back to the whole uh audition scene where Jimmy says, Who are your influences? I love them. Who are your influences, right? Yeah. So I made like a whole list of everybody that they Barry Manilo, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Wings. Yes. Bachman Turner Overdrive. Do we know this band? Who is Bachman Turner Overdrive?
SPEAKER_01I feel like I've heard of it as well. I've heard of it. I can know I can't play.
SPEAKER_04Spando Ballet. Love Spando Ballet.
SPEAKER_03Uh, uh, uh, uh, am I right?
SPEAKER_04Right. True. Soft cell, Sinead O'Connor, Led Zeppelin, you two. And then when they finally pick the drummer and he says his influence is animal from the Muppets.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_04The best one.
SPEAKER_01So, and and to be fair, who who is a drummer should not be influenced by Animal.
SPEAKER_03Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01He's amazing.
SPEAKER_03I would say the Muppets version of Queen is one of my favorites. But their Bohemian Ahsody.
SPEAKER_04The Muppets Christmas Carol is the only Christmas Carol. Oh, it's the best Christmas Carol. Forget it.
SPEAKER_01Amen. Well, we greatly appreciate all of our listeners for choosing this podcast and for supporting independent films. Keep an ear out for our next podcast and our next episodes.
SPEAKER_02Our next podcast.
SPEAKER_01You heard me. Keep an ear out for our next episode. To check out our show notes or drop us a note, visit imbibesinema.com. I'm Jonathan C. Leggett, and thanks again for imbibing with us.
SPEAKER_03Time for the cheers.
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