CBGB
Threw this on as background noise while I had to do a boring task at work. I grew up on punk rock, and I'm aware of the importance of the CBGB club, so I figured I'd give the movie a try but my fuck this script is awful.
Kinda makes you appreciate biopics like Straight Outta Compton (a movie I didn't love) because movies like that at least have a better tonal balance of drama with the occasional whimsy. This movie is just trying way too hard to be lighthearted, which is especially weird considering how ruthless the punk scene was. I mean back then, there were literal punk gangs who'd stomp one another out for fun. The tone of this movie is a mess.
Nobody can act either. Alan Rickman does a serviceable job, but his character is constantly making terrible decisions and his calm isn't much different from his angry or his happy.
Honestly, I'd rather watch a documentary about CBGB than this biopic about it's owner and the bands that shaped the punk scene. The only redeeming quality of the movie is the music: Talking Heads, Dead Boys, Blondie, Ramones, Television, etc. Again, maybe just play the records and skip the movie.
D+