This film is so difficult to find (I watched a complete upload on YouTube) that it seems foolish to review. As a long time lover of jazz and having been around jazz musicians for most of my life at clubs in NYC like the Five Spot and even places like Trumpets in my hometown of Montclair, this movie rings true on so many levels. Is it a great film? No. It is clearly made on a shoestring and with only a couple of names --Wayne Rogers and Cleavon Little. But the supporting cats are good too, many good character faces from old TV shows. What I think is most insightful, is the writing and how it captures these characters, their love for jazz and their naivete about what it takes to be a pro.
The dialogue is smart and funny. The film drags in a few places when some of the smaller characters are given too much story time but it never slows down to the point of disinterest. The writer knew how to write musicians -- jazz musicians especially, because they are an interesting bunch. I have to say one thing about my man, Cleavon Little. Cleavon left us with some beautiful work and he left us too soon. His performance here deserves attention because he played his character with such a distinct point of view. He and Wayne Rogers carried the film. Another scene, which I felt revealed the quality of the writing was the scene when Wayne Rogers gets knocked out by the wannabe Sinatra guy. A lesser film would have had him fighting back and being all macho. But instead, true to his character, who was not a tough guy, he took it like he had to. That scene must have happened in real life because it could not be made up, it had such a ring of truth. Find this film, and watch it.
The dialogue is smart and funny. The film drags in a few places when some of the smaller characters are given too much story time but it never slows down to the point of disinterest. The writer knew how to write musicians -- jazz musicians especially, because they are an interesting bunch. I have to say one thing about my man, Cleavon Little. Cleavon left us with some beautiful work and he left us too soon. His performance here deserves attention because he played his character with such a distinct point of view. He and Wayne Rogers carried the film. Another scene, which I felt revealed the quality of the writing was the scene when Wayne Rogers gets knocked out by the wannabe Sinatra guy. A lesser film would have had him fighting back and being all macho. But instead, true to his character, who was not a tough guy, he took it like he had to. That scene must have happened in real life because it could not be made up, it had such a ring of truth. Find this film, and watch it.