The Commitments (Robert Arkins, Andrew Strong) 1/2
Jimmy Rabbitte wants to start a band. Jimmy wants to start a soul band. Jimmy wants to start a soul band in Dublin, Ireland. Jimmy's got guts.
It's been ten years since Alan Parker's cult hit The Commitments hit the big screen, and only recently have I seen this fun movie for the first time. The picture works because it never really zones in on one unique topic or theme. It isn't specifically about friendship, or poverty, or family, or soul music, or about forming a band. It's more about all of these things combined... and some f words thrown in for good measure.
From a musical perspective, Alan Parker is a real gift to the film world. He is a man who obviously loves music in all its forms and treats the topic with respect, almost like a character all its own. From his early works such as Fame, Pink Floyd's The Wall and Birdy, to more recent fare such as his adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, he remains the # 1 director to tackle music on the big screen.
Robert Arkins plays the headstrong Jimmy Rabbitte, who begins a quest to assemble a bunch of musicians that might be interested in forming a soul band. This quest for just the right members is often hilarious, with an endless line of inappropriate applicants from all walks of life knocking on the front door of his family's home. His patience reaps great results though: Joey Fagan (Johnny Murphy) joins, a man who says he's jammed with all the greats (although Jimmy has his doubts), and Deco Cuffe (Andrew Strong) becomes the lead singer, a crude sasser with a coarse -- but riveting -- voice to match. In my opinion, an interesting twist is that the band hits the town, hangs out, and watches old footage of soul entertainers first, before actually rehearsing together. Of course, eventually the ties become strained and the movie concludes on a disappointing note, with the sad lyrics the band sings so well onstage reflecting the turmoil they go through behind the scenes.
All of the relatively unknown actors turn in great performances, however my personal favourite by far was Star Trek's Colm Meaney as Jimmy's father, an Elvis Presley-worshipping skeptic of the band. The live numbers are energetic and catchy, but obviously none of the covers surpass the originals in terms of quality, tone or feel. Still, the Commitments is a great chronicle of a band's rise to local infamy, only to be quashed by egos, relationships, and the unfortunate realization that strong convictions don't necessarily always generate strong results.
