The Life & Hard Times Of Guy Terrifico (Music Mockumentary)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C
There was
a time when the mockumentary was worth something and about something, but now,
it has become in too many cases a series of boutique, safe formula films that
are simply not funny because their style and content are far too predictable
and one-joke. Writer/director Michael
Mabbott’s The Life & Hard Times Of
Guy Terrifico (2007) is the latest example of this unfortunate cycle.
The title
character is a Country Rock singer/songwriter who was a good friend and
artistic rival of the likes of Kris Kristofferson (who plays himself in another
cliché of the cycle, stars playing themselves as if that gave creditability to
the pieces fake realism) as the film “researches” if Guy’s disappearance at the
height of his popularity in 1971 included his death. Unfortunately, the script is dead on arrival.
Even
Merle Haggard and Ronnie Hawkins cannot make this more interesting. What you essentially get is an idea that
might work for a TV skit and see it stretched out forever. This runs a very long 89 minutes. With so many real stories of great music
acts, especially from that era unheard, the truth would be more entertaining
than fiction. This is just a competent
bore.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is soft throughout in part trying to
feign the past and partly the way it was shot.
This looks like HD trying to be film.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is too far to the front and the Dolby 2.0 actually
has clearer dialogue. Extras include bonus
interview footage, extended performance clip by Kristofferson and deleted
scenes that add nothing.
- Nicholas Sheffo
