By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Alex Steyermark
Starring: Ashley Eckstein | Drea de Matteo | Eddie Driscoll | Gina Gershon | Ivan Martin | Lori Petty | Marc Blucas | Shelly Cole
Country: united_states
Year: 2003
Running time: 104
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0307351/combined
Bob says: “I came out of PREY thinking it was better than I’d expected. Frankly, I hadn’t expected much, so better than I expected is not so hot. But it’s fading for me already.
“The film doesn’t go very far in explaining the motivations of the characters, with the exception of Gershon’s. The opportunity
was certainly there with Petty, but for some reason it just doesn’t happen. I blame the screenplay. It’s Gina’s (broken down)
vehicle, so everybody else in the movie is little more than a caricature. That’s especially true of the male characters (one well-intentioned tough guy and two jerks). If the female characters were made more real, one could argue that this is a matter of turning the tables on an industry that creates male characters and cutouts of females to hang off them, but as I said, we only get one well-drawn female character here.
“The songs really are very bad. Who came up with the idea that a female punk’s songs are all going to be about being a female punk? She’s been at this for 20 years and all she’s got is commentary about her place within the industry and society? Where are the stupid songs about life in the city, getting pissed and getting pissed off? We get to see file footage of X (from the first DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION movie), so why can’t we get a character who’s a bit more like Excene Cervenka, who genuinely represents a mindset that should have at least been represented here?
“PREY is based on the real life of a woman who really went through 20 years in the LA scene. If the film is truly representative of her experiences and her perspective, it doesn’t surprise me that I’ve never heard of her. The whole thing just feels so trite, and I don’t believe it needed to be that way.”
Michael says: “PREY FOR ROCK AND ROLL is not a good movie. And yet, it’s not a bad movie either. In fact, I would say it’s no worse than most of the rock & roll movies out there. It suffers from the expected cliches that most R&R films suffer from, and it also suffers from what I now call, THE MAGDELENE SISTERS syndrome. That is, based on the screenwriters life experiences, PREY most likely squeezes 20 years of life in rock & roll into a several week timespan. So, what we’re left with is every possible bad thing that can happen one right after another.
“Still, it was fun. The film looks at an all-girl punk rock band, with a lead singer who has been in the biz for over 20 years, is about to turn 40, and is still making about $13.50 per gig. What is she to do? Give up? Keep going until she’s 50? 60? Gina Gershon tears into this role with daring abandon. Surely rock & roll is the one career path even less forgiving of its female participants growing older than acting. Of course, Gershon is looking terrific. The camera has to try really hard to find the one
area where some wrinkles are showing up on her face. Still, Gershon is not afraid to be caught in some unflattering shots, and her dilemma about aging is handled well.
“Actually, the acting was surprisingly good. Besides the always reliable Gershon, Lori Petty (TANK GIRL, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN), plays the lesbian, lead guitarist, adds some refreshing humor to the mostly downbeat and dirty film. Most surprising of all was Drea de Matteo (TV’s The Sopranos) who tackles the potentially most cliched role, (bad-girl bass player who is flirting with drug overdoses and scummy boyfriends) and emerges with her dignity intact. de Matteo plays it low-key enough to keep away from the melodrama.
“Unfortunately, since PREY FOR ROCK AND ROLL is really on the edge of being good and being bad, it probably won’t even develop into a cult film. The songs aren’s really that good (with the exception of the ebullient ‘Punk Rock Girl) and the camp factor is nil. Still, this isn’t a film Gina Gershon should be ashamed of. But when will she truly find the vehicle worthy of her screen presence?” 2 1/2 cats
Scot says: “Oh, no. This *is* a bad movie. A very bad movie, indeed. The problem centers around the fact that it’s not even a rock & roll movie at all, as it claims to be. It’s a ‘God Bless the Child Who’s Got His Own’ movie. Horrible, insulting, spirit-breaking things happen to the four women in the band, and they must look deep (ha!) into their souls to discover that the one thing that keeps them going is playing in a mediocre band. And the band is very bad. They don’t play poorly (because Stephen Trask and others perform the instrumentals along with Gershon). They don’t sing poorly (okay, they do, but that’s rock-n-roll). But the songs are utter crap. Insipid lyrics express strong feelings as deep as a puddle. Even the dramatic song about rape, ‘Every Six Minutes’ expresses its entire message in the title. Only the final song ‘Punk Rock Girl’ entertains because it caps off
a sitcom-esque joke set up by Lori Petty, but I was so annoyed by that point, it was still only slightly amusing.
“True, it’s always a joy to see Gina Gershon, and Lori Petty could make Greek drama a laugh riot. And Drea de Matteo resembles an actual human being I may have actually met once. But the capable actors cannot press this fluff hard enough to make it hold any sort of shape. They are doomed from the opening voiceover that introduces each character as if we were going to have trouble telling them apart later on. (We don’t. They’re all pretty much defined by their problems easily enough.)
“Stay home, play your Go-Go’s records, and read about Belinda Carlisle’s misfortunes instead.” 1 1/2 cats