Rent Vinyl (2012)

So-so film about the mad, hypocritical, greedy music business with a cracking cast - Vinyl review by PV

This film suffers for the same problem ALL films about the music business suffer from, when they feature fictional bands and their supposed 'hit singles and songs' - put simply, the songs ate just not good enough, so one cannot willingly suspend disbelief and believe these mediocre songs would have become hits, especially these days (when the songs sound like their made for the late 70s or early 80s).

It's all apparently based on Welsh musician Mike Peters (The Alarm) and his hoax on the music business and radio in 2014 after they refused to play his new songs because he was 'too old' (in his 40s). So he wrote songs and hired some pretty young things to mime to them - I remember seeing a video. Then the singles by that fake band got airplay by precisely the same radio stations who had refused to play Mike Peters' and The Alarm's new songs. BUT I don't think any of those songs were hits!

I did actually see The Alarm live when I was about 15 and also went to see Mike Peters live in Wales in 2015, I think. Not bad BUT The Alarm's BEST songs like '69 Guns' and 'Stand' date from 1983. They were never a top band like U2, for example, though they supported U2 in recent tours.

Hats off to the producers for getting this made - and it's NOT paid for by the state (BBC) AKA our taxes, or the National Lottery, or the EU film fund (AKA our taxes). So many totally rubbish boring pointless British films are subsidised like that.

But this film is not rubbish - it is so-so and worth a watch, especially for anyone - like me - who has had any experience of being in a band and encountering characters in the music business and radio/media etc.

This film is not as good as KILL YOUR FRIENDS or KILLING BONO, two brilliant films about the music biz. FRANK is a sad and weird watch too.

The cats is cracking here - and there are some funny scenes. All hokum really but worth going along for the ride. 3 stars.