Garage Days
Alex Proyas’s “Garage Days” is an eccentric and entertaining comedy about an Australian rock band trying to make it to the big time; unfortunately, they kind of suck, and need I mention all the romantic entanglements the band finds themselves in? The lead singer (Freddy, played by Kick Gurry) is sleeping with the bassist (Tanya, played by Pia Miranda), but has shared a kiss with Kaye (Maya Stange), who is the girlfriend of their lead guitarist (Joe, played by Brett Stiller), who is cheating on her with a Goth girl. The drug-loving drummer (Lucy, played by Chris Sadrinna) is otherwise unattached, but it’s probably just as well– he’s a bit loopy. They have a manager (Bruno, played by Russell Dykstra), but he’s pretty useless: Freddy is trying to get in with a hot manager of a rival band (Shad Kern, played by Marton Csokas), but for every step forward the band seems to take three steps back.
Maybe that’s too much story for the first paragraph, but as with some of Proyas’s other films, the visuals and how they help tell the story are more important. This was the first collaboration between Proyas and cinematographer Simon Duggan (who later shot Proyas’s “I, Robot” and “Knowing”), and they have some great artistic chemistry together. “Garage Days” is bright and bouncy (a major departure from Proyas’s other films) but stylistically alive; just wait until you see the sequences labeled “Fun With Drugs, Part I” & “II.” Proyas isn’t glorifying drugs and infidelity, however; these guys suffer real setbacks when they indulge in the vices of fame, making it all the worse that they aren’t famous.
The script by Proyas, David Warner and Michael Udesky doesn’t take any dramatic left turns from formula; it’s your typical underdog wanna-be famous musician story. Compared to “School of Rock,” “Almost Famous,” or “This is Spinal Tap,” “Garage Days” falls short, but it’s still a wonderful story that gets down to the central truth any such movie should focus on– don’t stop believing. You never know when your chance is gonna come. We never hear the band actually perform (the soundtrack is loaded with known rock and pop hits), but by the time that elusive “big break” comes (and we finally do hear them), we know we’re rooting for them to rock the house regardless.
