Tag Archives: Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

The Bruce Springsteen movie is slow. It’s redundant. And a lot of the music featured is not the artist’s most popular music. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere does not have the appeal of A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan movie from last year. That film had moments of joy and this new one is a bit more grim.

Is it unfair or unwise to compare this new movie to last year’s? Maybe. But that’s what I keep thinking about.

Jeremy Allen White is okay as Springsteen but this script would be challenging for any actor. To convey angst, discomfort and depression without physically acting out can’t be easy. Okay, there are couple of instances of acting out but mainly he keeps it inside. White gives it his best but the material is lacking.

The period depicted is the early 1980s. Springsteen has finished a tour and in his alone time he writes and records the songs that will become his Nebraska album. That album was released in 1982 and contains music that is not familiar to the general public. There ARE fans who say that Nebraska is their favorite Springsteen album. Just as there are people who say rutabagas are their favorite vegetable.

Some of the music in S:DMFN is excellent. The bits where Bruce is jamming classic oldies with a band at the Stone Pony, his old club in Asbury Park NJ, are fun. A performance of Born In The USA in a recording studio is a real killer. But the tone of the movie and some of the music is somber. 

Jeremy Strong plays Bruce’s manager Jon Landau who has to convince the CBS records honchos that Bruce wants to release these raw songs, originally recorded on a cassette machine in his bedroom, as his next album. Paul Walter Hauser plays Mike, who engineers those bedroom sessions. Odessa Young plays Bruce’s love interest Faye, who provides glimmers of happiness during this glum period of Springsteen’s life. Podcaster/comedian Marc Maron has a small role as a studio hand.

After Springsteen moves to Los Angeles, he seeks professional help to mitigate all his anguish. One can hope that the events depicted in S:DMFN might lead any moviegoers who have similar demons to get the counseling they need.

I’m a Springsteen fan. Saw him in concert four times. I believe Born To Run is among the greatest rock songs ever. So it feels weird that I am lukewarm about the movie.

Since Bruce sang about baseball in his song Glory Days and since the St. Louis Cardinals had a player named Scott Cooper for a season back in the 90s, let me put it this way: writer/director Scott Cooper was swinging for the fences but he got a standup double. Which is still a solid base hit.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is rated R.

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Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me

 

Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me is sad, funny, nostalgic and informative. But mostly, it’s sweet. Glen Campbell and his family show and tell how his Alzheimer’s has affected each of them.

As Keith Urban, one of many fellow musicians who offer comments, points out, much of our lives consist of memories. And when memory goes, a large part of our existence goes. Thankfully, for Glen Campbell, his abilities to play guitar and sing remain intact, although he cannot remember the words to his songs.

In I’ll Be Me, Glen and his wife Kim visit doctors at the Mayo Clinic. Results of brain scans are analyzed and explained. Drugs are prescribed and life goes on. For now.

The documentary begins in 2011 when Glen Campbell goes public with his diagnosis. It follows him and his entourage through a farewell tour that includes stops at iconic venues Ryman Auditorium (Nashville) and Carnegie Hall (New York). It’s not easy—not for Glen, nor his sidemen who include three of his kids.

At the Ryman, his teleprompter (with song lyrics) goes out and he is lost until it is restored. The family is concerned when he does the Leno show, but he turns in a successful performance. A tribute medley at the Grammy Awards show in early 2012 goes well. At gigs in late 2012, however, as his abilities decline, he has more difficulties. It’s not hard to respond emotionally to his ordeal.

Among the performers who offer comments about Glen Campbell and/or Alzheimer’s are Jimmy Webb, Brad Paisley, The Edge, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Blake Shelton and Kathy Mattea.

Most of the performances in the film from his farewell tour range from good to stellar. Most of his hits plus a few new songs are presented. Other highlights include a tour bus duet with daughter Ashley on Hank Williams’ Lovesick Blues, several clips from Campbell’s TV career and home movies and videos from all stages of his life.

For baby boomers and some Gen-Xers, Campbell has been prominent showbiz figure for half a century, thanks to a string of pop-country hits and a weekly TV show. Performances in Vegas and Branson kept him working long after the hits stopped coming.

It was brave for Glen and his wife and family to make this film and show how Alzheimer’s affects an individual, as well as caregivers and other loved ones. Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me brought tears to my eyes several times during its 1:44 or so run time. But it also made me appreciate the body of entertainment that Glen Campbell has delivered during his lifetime, especially these last concerts. I’m sad about what’s next, but happy that these performances were documented.

 

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