 | Starring: Tim McIntire, Laraine Newman, Fran Drescher, Jay Leno, Moosie Drier Directed by: Floyd Mutrux
Written by: John Kaye
Genre: Drama/Rock-n-Roll
Year: 1978
Country: USA
Language: English
Runtime: 91 min
Media: VHS/Bootleg DVD
Imdb:
Rating: 10
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This is the story loosely based on Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, who introduced rock'n'roll to teenage American radio audiences in the 1950's. Freed was a source of great controversy: criticized by conservatives for corrupting youth with the "devil's music"; hated by racists for promoting African American music for white consumption; persecuted by law enforcement officials and finally brought down by the "payola" scandals.
AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! This is without a doubt the best movie I have seen in years...and I just watched it for the first time last night before going to bed at 2am. It is a little piece of movie heaven that make syou wish you were there...in the 50's during the birth of Rock-n-Roll. I can't believe I had never seen this before. It feels like a film that should be a mainstream cult hit! But it's not. AND THAT MAKES IT EVEN COOLER! Tim McIntire is great as Alan Freed and the rest of the cast, especially The Cadillacs and the kid that plays Artie are fabulous. This could be one of the most perfect films made...at least in its genre. The period and look and feel were captured perfectly. I honestly don't think anyone could make a movie like this today. It wouldn't hit the marks that this one did. It would have way too much gloss to it and have to hit certain plot points and character shortcomings to have an effect on a modern day audience. When it comes down to it, it would be too formulaic with too much "hit-you-over-the-head drama". And of course, the music was just amazing! Some of the best scenes were when all these different groups wanted to sing for Freed because they weren't known yet. When the groups start singing, you recognize these songs as really big hits and you feel special like you were able to witness the creation of these historic songs and groups. There are some historical blips in the story, but it really doesn't matter. American Hot Wax is by far one of the most entertaining films I have ever seen and should not be missed.
