Buddy's Song

[Brian.Cady@turner.com]

        Well, I finally got a VHS copy of my $13 bargain-bin laser disc of 
     Roger's recent movie "Buddy's Song."  As some may remember from 
     previous posts, this was a movie which both stars and was co-produced 
     by Roger (and another co-producer was Bill Curbishley, The Who's and 
     Roger's manager).  The movie was, I believe, released only in Europe, 
     and was probably shot a year or two before the 1994 tour.
        I can see why it didn't get a wider release.  The story is a bit 
     clichéd in places and depressing in others.  In it, Roger plays Terry, 
     who in the early 90's still dresses like a 50's Rocker with his curly 
     hair slicked back, wearing gaudy outfits and driving a well-tended 
     50's American car.  He's a big fan of Buddy Holly and has named his 
     son after him.  His son is always trying to get his estranged mother 
     back together with Terry, but she's upper-middle class compared to 
     Terry's lower-class (how did these two ever get together in the first 
     place?).
          Terry is also best pals with a local gangster named Des (another 
     old Rocker) who often gets Terry into trouble.  At the beginning of 
     the film, Terry is caught with some of Des' stolen jewelry and rather 
     than rat, goes to jail.  Most of the first half of the film details 
     Terry's tough time in jail and after he is released, his fights with 
     his wife over her rise in the corporate world.  This part is mostly 
     depressing and difficult to enjoy.
        The second half picks up as Buddy joins a local band.  Terry tries 
     to push him into joining a group of his old Rocker friends, then 
     pushes himself into managing Buddy's band.  After this are a few too 
     many clichés about the struggling pop band on their way to the top 
     with the cheers and little heartbreaks along the way.
        However, there are quite a few of the scenes in the second half 
     that might be of interest to Who fans.  The tension that grows between 
     the band members and their back stage battles might be drawn from 
     Roger's 1st-hand experience with a certain other group.  There is also 
     a scene where Terry starts a fight during one of the group's shows and 
     they have to make a quick getaway during the mini-riot (with Terry 
     driving the van) that seems sure to have been drawn from Who history.
        Outside of this, there are no overt Who references in the movie 
     (except that while Terry is trying to escape the police during a 
     Rocker's gig, the band launches into "Summertime Blues").  And with 
     all the music there is in the movie, Roger does no singing (although 
     he is listed as the film's musical director).  The lower-class angle 
     and the prison scenes in the 1st half echo Roger's other pet-project 
     film "McVicar," but the lack of a score as exciting as "McVicar's" 
     hurts this film.
        In a last note, at the end of the film, Buddy finds true love with 
     Saffy from AbFab!
     
                                Yours,
                                Brian Cady