Based on fact. A fun and funny account of the PMRC hearings in the 1980's. Priestley plays a lawyer who has to defend the American record industry from a group of overzealous congressmen's wives calling for censorship against music they deem "obscene". He has to bring together a motley crue of rock stars (Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, John Denver) in order to overcome the group of "concerned parents" (headed by almost-first lady Tipper Gore).
It plays out like one of those 50's "sock-hop" movies (ie."Rock around the clock"), where the band of fun-loving duck-tailed rock types must fight the prejudices of small town America in order to let the kids have their fun. Then again that's part of the fun of watching this telefilm: the generation voting to ban metal (among others) in the 80's grew up on the rock of the 50's. Just don't expect any big surprises. The only real problem is that the last act, the congressional hearing itself, seems a bit rushed.
Priestley is fine, Mariel Hemingway is as blandly concerned as the real Tipper, Griffin Dunne is very funny as Zappa, Dee Snider is even funnier as himself, Tim Guinee (is this a pseudonym of Spike Jonze?)plays John Denver OTT.
The film doesn't aspire to be more than it is. A pleasant couple dozen minutes in front of the TV.
It plays out like one of those 50's "sock-hop" movies (ie."Rock around the clock"), where the band of fun-loving duck-tailed rock types must fight the prejudices of small town America in order to let the kids have their fun. Then again that's part of the fun of watching this telefilm: the generation voting to ban metal (among others) in the 80's grew up on the rock of the 50's. Just don't expect any big surprises. The only real problem is that the last act, the congressional hearing itself, seems a bit rushed.
Priestley is fine, Mariel Hemingway is as blandly concerned as the real Tipper, Griffin Dunne is very funny as Zappa, Dee Snider is even funnier as himself, Tim Guinee (is this a pseudonym of Spike Jonze?)plays John Denver OTT.
The film doesn't aspire to be more than it is. A pleasant couple dozen minutes in front of the TV.