If It's Too Loud, You're Too Old

Comedy Central deserves a lot of credit. As the home for comedic programming on cable, the channel fostered and supported a lot of content that otherwise might have fallen through the cracks. They hosted The Daily Show which, under the management of John Stewart, became a cultural force in politics (no matter how John Stewart might have thought about it). The channel grabbed up and aired Mystery Science Theater 3000First aired on the independent TV network KTMA, Mystery Science Theater 3000 grew in popularity when it moved to Comedy Central. Spoofing bad movies, the gang on the show watch the flicks and make jokes about them, entertaining its audience with the same kind of shtick many movies watchers provided on their own (just usually not as funny as the MST3K guys could provide). It became an indelible part of the entertainment landscape from there, and lives on today on Netflix., turning it into a touchstone for an entire generation (and beyond). And of course, they aired a lot of comedy movies that otherwise would have died on the vine and faded into VHS and DVD when their initial runs in theaters tanked out.

We've already discussed PCU, a fun, dumb movie that gained something akin to cult status thanks to Comedy Central, and another film that we can also put on that list is Airheads. The film, starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buschmi, and Adam Sandler, is goofy and silly, yes, but it also has a good story about a band trying to make it on the indie scene, and it resonated with me even before I got into rock and roll and was the right age to feel what the band was going through. It's a movie that really strikes a chord with viewers of a certain age and a certain time, and while it totally failed at the Box Office (nabbing only $5.8 Mil against its $11.2 budget) those that have seen Airheads, and know its charms, can speak to just how fun the movie really is.

Fraser plays Chazz Darby, the lead guitarist, lead singer, and song writer for The Long Rangers. He, along with his friends Rex (Buscemi) and Pip (Sandler), are out there on the Strip, every night, trying to get noticed and get signed by a label, but no matter what they do (even breaking into record buildings to meet with reps) they can't get noticed. Other, shittier bands get record deals, but The Lone Rangers are forced to sit on the sides lines... alone, if you will.

After hearing from another band, at a concert, that getting their single on KPPX Rebel Radio was all it took to give them their break, Chazz and the band decide that's what they'll do. They break into KPPX and sneak into the booth where DJ Ian "The Shark" (Joe Mantegna) is on the air, and they try to get their song played. But when station manager Milo (Michael McKean) comes in and tries to kick the band out, Rex pulls a (realistic toy) gun, and then Chazz follows suit. They take everyone in the station hostage and, as soon as the cops come along, The Long Rangers realize they're in the shit. But you do what you do for Rock and Roll, man.

Although some reviewers back in the day dinged the film for "being a satire without and satire", I think they missed the point. Yes, Airheads is a funny movie (very funny, in fact), but there's a heartfelt earnestness to it. These guys aren't the brightest tools around (they take people hostage with plastic water guns, after all), but they're out there, trying to make it happen on the Rock and Roll scene. As Chazz puts it when pushed by Milo, he is Rock and Roll, and with Fraser's dedicated performance, you believe it.

It's not just Fraser selling it, though (although that is absolutely the case); the film also understand the plight of these characters. The daily grind at various shows where it's just you and the other bands and their girlfriends. The constant rejection from industry reps. The feeling that no matter how much you work the system just isn't meant for you. The film has a lot to say about the industry about the music, and about Rock and Roll itself, and I think the critics that hated the film when it was first released didn't really "get" what the film was saying.

I liked this film in 1994 when it was airing on Comedy Central, but I gained even more respect for it once I started working at a radio station and I saw the other side of the coin. I worked for a college station and we were free to play more stuff from indie bands than the bigger, corporate stations could. But even then, we had our playlists, we had our contacts with the music reps, we had deals we had to strike to get some bands on the air (and that kept others off). The only shows we went to were ones where the tickets were sent to us for free. The only records we played were the ones sent by the reps. A band like The Lone Rangers wasn't going to be on our station until they were signed and had a deal already. The system was fixed, even at the local levels.

So I get it when the band in this movie talks about the grind, about how they're working their hardest and not getting noticed. The film finds true honesty as it picks apart the various parts of the industry. It feels real, even as the scenario it depicts is pretty silly. And yes in fairness, the scenario has some flaws to it. I doubt that even a realistic looking fake gun would fool people for very long considering it would still look like plastic in bright lights. There are plenty of times when the cops should charge into the station and arrest the band but they don't because that would ruin the plot of the film. And, hell, there's some goofy moments (like the list of demands from the band, including a giant baby bottle and naked pictures of Bea Arthur) that stand out as a little too dumb, a little too silly.

Those moments are few and far between, and even then the cast sells it for all its worth. The star is absolutely Brendan Fraser, hot on a string of films including Encino Man, School Ties, and With Honors. it would take another few years for him to find huge success in the industry, but once he starred in 1999's The Mummy, things really took off for for the actor. That said, he brings is strong, eventually Academy Award winning dedication to the role of Chazz and really sells it. As silly as this film can be at time, you never doubt for a second that Fraser's Chazz lives, breathes, and is Rock and Roll.

I think the other two band members, though, are probably the film's weakest point. I like Buscemi as an actor, but Rex is a caricature. He feels like he comes from a different, dumber film, and while I don't blame Buscemi for that -- the script really lets him down in places -- the actor doesn't find a way to elevate the character either. Meanwhile Sandler's Pip is another Adam Sandler character from that period (with other turns of that time including Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore). Pip is, bluntly, forgettable. This is the Fraser show and Buscemi and Sandler are just along for the ride.

Even still, this film is stupidly watchable. Yes, it depicts a period of music that has faded and gone. The hair metal / grunge scene is gone, and Rock isn't what it used to be (and might never be again). But the indictment of the music industry still holds, strong and true. The Lone Rangers were fighting against a system meant to ignore them until they were impossible to ignore, and that would then chew them up to make a perfectly packaged product. Chazz and his crew stand against that and you simply wish more bands were able to be themselves and not have to fight the system. Even in Rock and Roll you have to battle the Man, and this film gives one hope that that fight is worth having.