CBGB

Having premiered in 2013, this film has been on my to watch list mainly because of Alan Rickman and Rupert Grint. Having heard of CBGB, I was also interested in seeing the story of Hilly Kristal (Alan Rickman) and his iconic club.

CBGB follows Kristal a man with two bankruptcies as all the clubs he tries to open end up in failure.

Alan Rickman is incredibly talented and he handles this role with ease. Although, the script does make it seem like Kristal is a completely incompetent business man. Kristal had an eye for talent and those who got started at his club have nothing but good things to say about him.

The movie opens with Kristal having to borrow money from his mother to open another club even though he has just had to file for bankruptcy for the second time. It's 1973 and Kristal finds the perfect location in the Bowery. CBGB (Country Bluegrass and Blues) opens and is originally intended to promote the music it was named after. Things change when a band called Television auditions for Kristal and get a gig. Punk is on its way to being born.

From there we are introduced to a wide variety of people who made the club what it is including: Punk magazine co-founders Legs McNeil (Peter Vack) and John Holmstrom (Josh Zuckerman), filmmaker Mary Harron (Ahna O'Reilly) and record producer Genya Raven (Stana Katic). While it's cool to see all the bands that got their start at CBGB they are there for no other reason. None of these characters develop fully. The band that gets the most screen time are The Dead Boys and that's because Kristal decides to manage them. Justin Bartha plays frontman Stiv Bators and Rupert Grint plays guitarist Cheetah Chrome. They both give standout performances.

Running the club is not without its problems. The stage collapses, Jonathan (Kristal's dog) is always defecating everywhere and Kristal is at odds with his business partner as well as his daughter. Kristal,  his business partner Merv Ferguson (Donal Logue) and his daughter Lisa Kristal (Ashley Greene) are the main focus of the film. Kristal is horrible at managing his money much to the dismay of Ferguson and Lisa.

The film tries to stuff a lot into an hour and forty minutes, but the aesthetic is cool. It's awesome to see CBGB in its glory even if it's only on screen.

MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 102 Minutes

Directed by: Randall Miller
Screenplay: Jody Saving, Randall Miller

Starring: Alan Rickman, Malin Akerman, Justin Bartha, Richard de Kierk, Johnny Galecki, Ashley Greene, Rupert Grint, Taylor Hawkins, Stana Katic, Donal Logue, Joel David Moore, Freddy Rodriguez, Mickey Sumner, Bradley Whitford, Peter Vack, Josh Zuckerman, Ahna O'Reilly, Jared Carter