User reviews

This is one of the most under viewed movies I can think of. If you have a sense of humor about musicians and their lifestyles, this is a great watch. I recommend this as the second feature on a double bill with 'This is Spinal Tap'. This movie is funnier than many 'A' list comedies and should have a larger fan base. Check it out.

"Get Crazy" is as '80s as a Flock Of Seagulls haircut or a Ms. Pac Man machine, but when people talk about the decade, for some strange reason it's off everyone's radar screen. No one mentions it when you talk about cool '80s cinema, but it's better than a pack of "Fast Times" or a pair of "Breakfast Clubs" for my money.

It's a rare thing to see three such beauties as Gail Edwards, Stacy Nelkin, and Anna Bjorn all adorning the same film, but who on Earth in 1983 could have thought it would be the career highpoint for all three of them? Why isn't Malcolm McDowell's fantastically hilarious Mick Jagger send-up as celebrated as Bill Murray's Carl Spackler in "Caddyshack?" What more evidence do you need that life's unfair! How about one of the zaniest films since "Hard Day's Night" celebrating rock 'n roll passing though the chasm of time with barely a whisper of recognition? Ouch!

Okay, I'm through ranting. Since you are reading this, you don't deserve this spiel. You care enough to look through these reviews. Perhaps you even managed to find a copy of the film, which may be like climbing K2 for video collectors, forget DVD. Here's why "Get Crazy" is worth your time.

1. Killer songs - "Hot Shot" and "Take It No More" are pretty boss send-ups of hard rock and new wave from the period. The latter even has some great Shirelles-style harmonies and sax breaks, very B52s.

2. Spot-on sendups - McDowell is great as Reggie, even his last name is a funny dig at the head Stone. Strutting onstage with a giant codpiece and frilly tunic, McDowell has a lot of fun playing it very silly for a change, and the results suit him. It's great to see such a fine actor cutting up.

3. Goofy set pieces - I like the bit where King Blues is at the graveyard ceremony for his blues musician friend, and every other mourner is blind! Or when Reggie prods his girlfriend with a lobster claw. When we first see Lou Reed as the Dylan send-up Auden, he's lounging in the same pose and background as Dylan's "Bringing It All Back Home" album cover except everything's covered in cobwebs, including the girl with the ciggie! You have to watch this film a few times to pick up even most of the craziness.

4. Political incorrectness - You want sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll? "Get Crazy" has it. There's walking joints, ganja so potent it can suspend 220-pound blues legends in midair, and a strange thin man with no face and a suitcase stocked with pharmaceutical cornucopia. And plenty of nudity, even one actress in a bathtub playing a high school girl. Yet you can't really hold it against "Get Crazy," because the sex and drugs are there for jokes rather than titillation, sending up the lifestyle we all associate with the music.

5. Relevance to the time - The 80s were the decade of greed and ugly silver-plastic pants, so who is a better movie villain than Colin Beverly? He's played to perfection by Ed Begley Jr., star of such sleazy late-night R-rated period fare as "Private Lessons" and "Eating Raoul" and just oozing corruption from every pore. The clash of cultures between Beverly and Allan Garfield's idealistic Max Wolfe, owner of the Saturn Theater and hero of our story, makes for a nice microcosm of the period. It's like Michael Douglas taking on Martin Sheen in "Wall Street," only with some drop-dead bass guitar underneath. And then there's the other culture clash, that of New Wave performer Nada (Lori Eastside crossing Joan Jett with Toni Basil) and McDowell's take on Jagger's "Emotional Rescue" period, including a Keef substitute in John Densmore playing drums.

"Get Crazy" can be sad to watch. The director, Allan Arkush, had a lot of talent we never really got to see again because of this film's unfair fate. Likewise, it has too many good actors who never got another serious chance. There's also an eerie opening where Wolfe, riding a flying machine, crashes into an electrical apparatus, which is exactly how Wolfe's real-life basis Bill Graham died years later.

But otherwise this film is just a ton of fun, a time capsule that hasn't gotten a minute older for all the New Years that have passed between then and now.

Over the years I have probably viewed this picture about 20 times, and I really don't get tired of it. It is so full of silly things, injokes about the Rock n Roll 'thing' and absolutely outrageous performances that it is always fun to watch and to show to friends. Malcolm McDowell's scene-chewing Jagger-Bowie character of Reggie Wanker is an absolute highlight and look for some amazing personalities in roles in this movie. This is one that never loses its charm.

I have this on tape and have made it a tradition, to be watched each New Years Eve for the past 20 years .... just can't think of not doing it. After Dick Clark and Times Square go off, on goes the movie. A movie about New Years Eve on New Years Eve ... what could be better. Sneaking up on 67, it's nice to know that my kids remember me doing this and still ask about to this day. It's a fun movie ... ENJOY !!! (don't pick it apart just enjoy it) Well seems I need to have more on here. So I would also like to point out that the music is good and I look forward to hearing each year, so again I'll say give it a look see, especially on New Years Eve.

For those that know the "Corman Clan", and like seeing them outside their comfort zone - this is worth a watch! Kinda like "Rock N' Roll Graduation" with it's music variety, mature humor, and pop culture references and cast. Yet nothing overly gratuitous, gross, or sentimentally syrupy. The problem with such a humongous cast is no one really gets to shine. The humor is over the top silliness for the A.D.D. crowd, and other than Lou Reed the other pop icons will be missed if one blinks. Even with Lou's brief appearances, he actually does perform in the movie - at the last half of the ending credits! But it is fun to see Malcolm McDowell as rock god Reggie Wanker. And Ed Beagley Jr. as "the evil bad guy". Good dumb fun for pop culture fans and star gazers.

I laughed my butt off when I first saw this flick in college. The parodies of famous rock stars (courtesy of Malcolm McDowell), punk rock, and blues artists was very well done. The drug jokes (one guy sneaking into the theatre dressed as a joint, the magic water) were absolutely hilarious for their time. One of my favorites was when several different versions of "Hoochie Coochie Man" were performed onstage. King Blues opened the set with a Jewish backup band; I rolled on the floor laughing as Blues was frustrated over the band sent to perform with him. Once King Blues was finished, the band Nada (featuring Lee Ving as Piggy) blitzed their way through a fast, furious, and very impassioned rendition. Piggy was a definite show-stealer as Nada'a masochistic lead singer! Ah, then Reggie Wanker steps onstage and does his slick version. The Wanker almost falls flat but is saved by a ripping drum solo by Doors beatmeister John Densmore. Another scene which got me laughing was when Reggie Wanker started listening to his private member...I always thought listening to IT would get me in trouble, but it saved Wanker's career! Lou Reed, in a Dylanesque role, was wonderful as the singer/songwriter Auden who uses the scenic route on a cab to give him inspiration for his music. Don't try to think your way through this movie...just sit back, put your mind on cruise control, and enjoy the ride!!!

Allan Arkush's lesser-known but superior follow-up to ROCK'N'ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979) was an affectionately cheeky tribute to his own days as an usher at the legendary New York concert venue Fillmore East which, during its four year tenure between 1968-71, housed live performances by scores of major rock and jazz artists. The light-hearted satirical film provides the viewer with a rare opportunity to see actors being rock stars (Malcolm McDowell as a vain Mick Jagger-like superstar named Reggie W**ker) and vice versa (Lou Reed as a recluse folkie in the Bob Dylan mould named Auden and John Densmore, the former drummer for The Doors, as W**ker's drummer who goes by the name of Toad); other renowned musical personalities who are respectfully sent up are Jerry Garcia (via Howard Kaylan leading a group of hippies who believe themselves still back in 1968 rather than 1982!) and Muddy Waters (played by Bill Henderson who also utters the film's funniest line while delivering, of all things, a funeral eulogy: "God, this is my man, and you'd better take care of him, or I'm gonna wax your a**!"). This is also followed by a blind man falling into the open grave, the dead man's son driving like a demon to reach the concert venue on time and, much later on, Henderson getting another big laugh when he is 'struck blind' after sipping an acid-spiked drink when he had really only walked into the closet!

The rest of the cast includes even more colorful characters, namely: Daniel Stern as the overtaxed organizer of the star-studded New Year's Eve concert; Allen Garfield (billed as Goorwitz and portraying Stern's employer who is struck down by a mild heart attack); Miles Chapin (as Garfield's overly ambitious and treacherous nephew); Ed Begley Jr. (who, made up to resemble Andy Warhol, plays greedy billionaire Colin Beverly and is looking to buy off Garfield and take over his property); 1960s teen idol Fabian (unregonizable as one of Begley's monosyllabic henchmen!) Lee Ving (as an animalistic punk rocker, prone to head-butting anything from car booths to stone walls, and fronting an all-girls band!), Paul Bartel (as the proverbial "doctor in the house" who, overtaken by enthusiasm, eventually leaps off the balcony into the audience below!); and Robert Picardo (as an overzealous fire marshal); ubiquitous character actors Dick Miller (as Stern's father) and Mary Woronov also have cameos. As if all of the above were not enough source of entertainment already, we also have a Jewish Blues band, an electric ghost-cum-drug pusher(!), a motorcycle gang and Stern's overeager younger sister (to whom Reed croons "My Baby Sister" – a song later retitled "Little Sister" and issued in a Reed compilation album – over the film's end credits, a performance only witnessed by her, a dog and a human joint!); on the debit side, I do not think it was such a great idea to have all of the bands performing at the New Year's Eve concert doing their own take on the same song i.e. Willie Dixon's Blues number, "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man".

Apparently, McDowell had not read the entire script before accepting the role of Reggie W**ker and hence was not aware that he was expected to, at one point while inadvertently high on acid, conduct a conversation with his own dick (who is subsequently appointed the band's new manager!)...not that this should have unduly troubled the lead of Tinto Brass' infamous star-studded epic CALIGULA (1979)! On the other hand, while Lou Reed's character may have ostensibly been channeling Dylan (in its clear reference to those eight years in the wilderness following his 1966 motorcycle accident) but Auden (a reference to poet W.H. Auden, perhaps?)'s lifestyle and working methods – living with what looks like a transsexual (a reference to Reed's 1970s relationship with "Rachel") and composing lyrics right off of the streets (he spends most of the film stuck in a taxicab that takes him all the way out to the desert while strumming his guitar and coming up with lyrics) – is pure Lou Reed!

I had previously seen the film via a pan-and-scan screening on the MGM Cable TV channel but I eventually upgraded my copy to a Widescreen one in time for my mini-Bob Dylan tribute. From the director's other works, apart from ROCK'N'ROLL HIGH SCHOOL I am also familiar with DEATHSPORT (1978) and have just gotten hold of Hollywood BOULEVARD (1976) which he co-directed with Joe Dante. Curiously enough, Arkush had also directed the video for Bette Midler's cover of The Rolling Stones' "Beast Of Burden" - originally from their ground-breaking disco-tinged SOME GIRLS (1978) album!

Allen Garfield (billed as Allen Goorwitz) plays the owner of a concert hall in Los Angeles, preparing for a New Year's Eve rock and blues blowout, who is threatened with a takeover attempt by slimy concert promoter Ed Begley Jr. Director Allan Arkush knows how to make a cult film, and this one comes complete with hip casting, some great music, wild gags and in-jokes, but what is accomplished with cheerful rebellion is soon mitigated by shapeless scenes and static slapstick, one out-of-control, overeager sequence after another. Despite the work of three credited screenwriters, the dialogue is pothead-smug and has no snap, and Arkush frequently resorts to tastelessness to get a cheap laugh (such as a naked babe sharing space in a bathtub with a guy in scuba gear). The overall tone is jovial and chummy, as if we were co-conspirators in the picture's euphoric craziness, but Garfield is too intense an actor for his role--he pretends to have a good time, much like the rest of the cast, and it doesn't wash. There isn't, in fact, one character in this group as lovable as Riff Randell from Arkush's 1979 midnight-movie entry, "Rock 'n' Roll High School". ** from ****

True, the movie is funny for many different reasons, but for me, the best thing about it is Lou Reed. Granted, I would consider any Lou Reed cameo the best part of any film, but in this particular case, he truly does steal the show. So funny, so deadpan (because, c'mon: it's Lou), and a great performance of "Little Sister" at the end. He still does Lou Reed better than anyone.

While there were a few moments that made my chuckle, overall this is an utterly pointless movie with a non-sensical script containing far too many jokes that will just make one writhe in agony. One can only wonder how such a film was ever made...if anything it is a great example for all screen writers on what to avoid doing with their scripts.

When I was about 13 I saw this on TV and afterwards kicked myself for not having taped it. Some years later while travelling I saw it through a video store window and, well, flipped out. After getting home I called up my estranged father and blackmailed him into buying it for me. The video title has a very unfortunate Finnish translation (which translates back to "Star Gang")and the absence of letterboxing results in booms aplenty, but NOTHING can ruin my joy of watching this movie again and again!

There's a lot to like here as the movie throws a million jokes at you a minute. Some don't work, some do. The music is alright even if there's almost zero story or character. It's just an excuse for zaniness and for that, it works fine. Tough to track down, but worth it!

The funniest and most original rock comedy ever! I first saw this film as a 14 or 15 year old and have seen it many times. Its music is fabulous with piggys version of hoochie coochie man a stand out. it is very rare to get the right mix of comedy/music in a film and i believe that they did this superbly with spinal tap a not to close second.And although i have not seen it for many years it still holds a very special place in my movie memory.

"Get Crazy" is a film directed by Allan Arkush, the same man who made another similar and equally goofy film, "Rock 'n Roll High School". For this reason AND Siskel & Ebert both recommending it, I decided to give this obscure 1980s cult film a view.

There really is very little in the way of plot (much like "Rock 'n Roll High School"). Instead, there's a broad plot and lots and lots of episodic humor that comes so quickly that if you don't laugh at one joke, you are almost immediately hit with another! Sure, many of the laughs fall flat, but the film has a likable goofiness that kept my interest.

The basic plot idea is that a producer is trying to put on a huge New Years Eve concert....and an evil man (Ed Begley Jr.) and his minions are trying to stop it. Apparently the evil folks want the concert to fail so that they can buy up the place for cheap.

So is it any good? Yes and no. The film certainly is NOT sophisticated nor deep...but the film is fun. My only caveat is the film is MUCH more adult than "Rock 'n Roll High School", as there is much nudity and a funny but crude bit involving a rock star's 'member'. Definitely NOT a film to show the kids kids, your mother or Father O'Brien.

Malcolm MacDowell is an incredible actor with cohones of steel. Just seeing him take the risk of playing an aging hard-rocker and actually singing is just unbelievable. Playing off Daniel Stern with the line from Blue Thunder "Catch you later" with the forefinger pointed like a gun was just too cool.

Electric Larry was too much like people I went to high school with. I died watching this film.

A mixed bag of a rock and roll comedy from director Allan Arkush, who earlier directed the cult classic ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL featuring The Ramones. This film has a concert venue owner, Allen Garfield (NASHVILLE, BEVERLY HILLS COP II), fighting off attempts to buy him out by a sleazy, well-funded concert promoter, the hilarious Ed Begley Jr. However, the film's main character is really Danial Stern (HOME ALONE) as the stage manager who has to keep the show running while also trying to woo back his old girlfriend, Gail Edwards. That rom-com storyline, along with a bunch of cool musical acts, could have been an exceptionally entertaining film, but the inclusion of AIRPLANE / NAKED GUN type of spoof gags is distracting and not all that funny, detracting from what could have been a fun movie. This was done at the insistence of the producers and against the director's wishes. It's reported that this film was made for a tax write-off and was planned to lose money, just like in Mel Brooks' THE PRODUCERS, which is likely why the film got so little support. Still, Stern is affable and charming, as is Edwards, who I had a crush on as a kid when she was on the sitcom IT'S A LIVING as the waitress Dot. The funniest bit in the movie, though, is Malcolm McDowell as a Mick Jagger / David Bowie parody character named Reggie Wanker (yep, it's that kind of on-the-nose humor). McDowell is clearly having a good time in a type of silly comedic performance I had never seen him do before, which was fun. He also sang his own songs, which he insisted on in his contract when he accepted the part. You even get Lou Reed playing Lou Reed, though I was most excited to see Lee Ving, lead singer of my all-time favorite punk band FEAR, playing a punk rocker named Piggy. So there is a lot to like about the film, even if a lot of the AIRPLANE-style gags fall flat.

For all those who love to have a good time, this movie is for you. In "Get Crazy", a theater owner who thought he was going to die realize he's soon be having fun every year rather than worrying. His theater has the best guests, the best music, and the best surprises. He has some obstacles he must avoid. A former worker(Ed Begley, Jr., "St. Elsewhere") who wants the building for his own. Along with his cronies(Fabian Forte & Bobby Sherman) would go to extremes to get it. With a lot of performers in there. One of them Reggie(Malcolm McDowell) kinda finds himself in a personal rut. He has the Countess(Anna Bjorn) but ends up preoccupied with other women. So when she sees the stagehand, she seduces him. Good for him, bad for Reggie. While the party goes on, the countdown to New Year's is yonder way. And everything is good to go. This movie is a bit of a spoof of a lot of stars, but the tribute is for real. I thought this movie was a lot of fun. But it is now a tribute to Lou Reed, who played the reclusive hit maker of the day. It is a always and forever, a true gem! R.I.P. LOU REED! 3 out of 5 stars.

I first saw this film over ten years ago, and still think this is the ultimate drugs, sex and rock and roll picture ever made, and certainly one of the funniest films I'ver ever seen. It's a bit dated now, but I agree with one writer who called it "the funniest film most people haven't seen."

I can't say enough good about this one. If you've ever tried to perform live, under pressure, with everything going wrong around you - I don't care if it's a high school play or Madison Square opening for the Megaband of the Minute - you'll identify with this. Lou Reed gets to play himself, basically; the hippy bands of the 60s that just won't leave are portrayed as they are (and this was 1983, for Pete's sake, never mind 2006!), the ego-glamrockers get their due with Malcom MacDowel, The punkers have their turn, and the blues godfather kind of watches it all from the wings.

My favorite scene is at the beginning at a bluesman's funeral - King Blues does the graveside eulogy, in which he says, among other things, ..."You were the greatest...musician, drinker of whiskey, and lover of women (minister starting to wince at this point)... 'God, this is my man, and if you don't take care of him, I'm gonna wax your a_s!" - thunder rumbles, minister backs away from the grave, and the blind a capella blues singers who've been crooning away all through the scene start bumping into each other, saying "'scuse me, scuse me" - one of them falls in the grave and yells "I'M NOT DEAD!!!!" - OK, it loses in telling - just get the film and enjoy!

This movie is a great parody! I love it! Being a musician I loved how all the acts play off King Blues. Lee Ving is Piggy and is at his best in this movie. Malcolm Mcdowell plays the part of the Egotistical Rock Star as only he can. Howard Kaylan of Flo and Eddie (AKA the Turtles) plays a great parody of Jerry Garcia. Fabian and Bobby Sherman make great henchmen for bad guy Colin (Ed Begley Jr.) Lou Reed As Folk Singer Auden is eccentric and closes the movie as only he can. Director Allan Arkush captures the world of Rock Concerts perfectly with all the characters you would fine at any event. If you can't tell I love this movie. A must see for any rocker who enjoys a good comedy about the industry. Needs to be on DVD!!

This movie is a classic. Don't care if it didn't win any awards, I love it, plain and simple. It has been a tradition in my house on New Years Eve and has been for at least 15 years to watch "Get Crazy". First saw this on HBO back in '83. From there I bought the VHS tape that I still watch to this day. I wished to God that it would be released on DVD !!!! Has some great B stars of the time and is just a fun movie. Totally making fun of the music business and never taking itself serious. It's the "Scary Movie" or "Airplane" of the concert hall. Takes place in the "Saturn theater" on New Years Eve 1982. The evil Colin Beverly is out to buy the Saturn theater from Max Wolfe so he can tear it down to make way for a huge stadium. Max won't sell so Colin sets out to set off a bomb to go off at midnight. Hilarity ensues as good tries to conquer over bad while the concert goes on. Definitely worth watching if you're in the mood for a movie that makes fun of itself !!!

Get crazy is a dropped on its head,spun in the cotton candy machine film.Based on the Fillmore east,it features Lou Reed aping Bob Dylan,Howard Kaylan aping Jerry Garcia,Malcolm Macdowell channeling Mick Jagger etc.director Allen Arkush worked at the Fillmore,so he based his experience on the screenplay,injecting a dose of rock and roll high school in the mix. The supporting cast includes Bobby Sherman and Fabian as henchmen who are helping to sabotage the new years eve party so their boss can build on the property.Mary Woronov and the late Paul Bartel {Eating raoul}round out the cast.Watch for the marijuana cigarette spectator who gets smaller as the film goes by.