Plot
A look at the New York City punk-rock scene and the venerable nightclub, CBGB.
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 6.0/10 (487 voted)
Director:Randall Miller
Storyline
CBGB follows the story of Hilly Kristal's New York club from its conceit as a venue for Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock 'n roll and punk. When Kristal had difficulty booking country bands in his club on the Bowery he opened his doors to other kinds of rock music. Kristal had one demand of the acts he booked; they could only play original music. No top 40's, no covers. It was the credo he lived by, support the artist at whatever the cost. Hilly Kristal ironically became known as the godfather of punk giving a chance to such bands as Blondie, Television, Ramones, Talking Heads, Dead Boys and The Police.
Goofs:
On several occasions, the street corner of Bleecker Street and the Bowery are shown. The street signs have a green background with white lettering. In the 1970s, street signs in Manhattan would have had a yellow background with black lettering. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 7/10
The following review focuses on the portrayal of Hilly Kristal and
CBGB. I will leave criticism of the aesthetics of the film and the film
makers' skills to others with a less personal connection to the
material.
I knew they were going to get things wrong and I also knew they were
going to have to change and compress some things in order to tell a
coherent story in under two hours.
There's a lot they got right and a lot they got wrong and there's a lot
of good and bad in this movie.
One thing I have mixed feelings about was the decision for artistic
sake to use a lot of actual pieces of the original club as props. Since
this movie is set in the early to mid-1970's, highlighting the
beginning of CBGB and its early notoriety, many people who know
anything about underground music will find a number of things out of
place. For example, it's cool that they used the actual phone booth
from the club as a prop in the film, but when Alan Rickman as Hilly in
1974 is seen standing next to it with a visible 1993 CBGB twentieth
anniversary poster on the side, it can be distracting. There are tons
of stickers and flyers for bands from later years visible throughout
the movie and if you know your music, it can be a little distracting.
It was also evident that someone involved in the set design of this
film was a big fan of late 80's straight-edge as there are a
disproportionate number of Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits stickers
all over the interior.
Most of the big name bands of the 70's CBGB scene are represented here.
Some notable bands missing, but this is a movie and we can't expect
them to fit everyone. If you blink, you'll miss the two seconds an
actress playing Annie Golden of The Shirts is on screen. The music is
all lip synced studio recordings of the original artists… which is good
because who wants to hear the actors doing covers?… and bad because
every live performance sounds too perfect. Most bands are given very
little screen time as it is obvious the film makers are trying very
hard to fit as many in as possible, but each one is well represented
and there are little true to life touches, such as Johnny Ramone's
temper and Patti Smith's eccentricities, that are actually pretty
humorous.
Good… The Dead Boys are featured heavily in this film (more than any
other band) and a lot of people who never heard of them before seeing
this film are going to be turned on to them. Rupert Grint actually does
a great job as Cheetah Chrome. The closest thing to a plot this film
has, aside from Hilly opening the club, is Hilly's decision to manage
the Dead Boys and get a record out. The film loosely follows this
effort right up to the stabbing of Johnny Blitz.
Bad… (SPOILER!!) After the stabbing of Johnny Blitz, the film ends
quickly after Lisa and Merv come up with some money for Hilly. This is
completely anticlimactic and unnecessary. Since the film chose to close
shortly after the stabbing, they missed the opportunity to end the film
big, with the infamous Johnny Blitz benefits at CBGB.
Good… Not only is John Holmstrom's story told here in the origin of
Punk magazine, but his actual art is used throughout the film in
various scene changes. Holmstrom is a good guy and deserves to have his
story told and I'm glad his art is getting exposure in this film.
Bad… Savannah Georgia does not look like NYC. Okay, that's just a
quibble. I know it's a movie, but I just had to throw that in.
Good… A few people I don't like were left out of this story and they're
probably very upset.
Bad… Unfortunately, because of the legal dispute over Hilly's estate,
his ex-wife Karen and his son Dana, both of whom were there at the very
beginning of CBGB are left out of this story. Hilly's daughter Lisa is
the only family member shown working at the club with him.
Good… Hilly's chili, dog waste everywhere, carnality on stage, Hilly
leaving money in his freezer, and countless other little details that
brought memories flooding back.
Bad… not bad for the movie, but the scene where Hilly is chided for
forgetting to pay the rent will, unfortunately, only reinforce the
incorrect assumption that many still have to this day that CBGB closed
because of unpaid rent. Allow me to step away from my review for a
moment. For the record, that is not why we closed. Though the landlord
did improperly sue us over unpaid rent, it was just a dirty tactic to
get us out. The rent was always paid. The judge not only threw the
lawsuit out, but reprimanded the landlord for being so underhanded. Our
lease expired and the landlord did not renew.
Back to the movie… The best thing about this movie and what made me
actually really like it was the way Hilly was portrayed. Not only did
Alan Rickman do a great job of capturing Hilly's mannerism and
personality... for all the faults those of us who nitpick will find in
this film, at its heart it is a sweet tribute to a great man. Hilly
could be difficult to understand (figuratively and literally) and could
have completely irrational emotional responses to some things for no
reason and no response to things that warranted reaction, but his heart
was always in the right place and he made CBGB a home for so many of us
and his employees were often an extension of his family. For everything
this film got right and everything this film got wrong, this was the
most important thing and they got it perfectly right.
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