Best Band Film since The Commitments

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 2018)

Ok, I admit it, I had no idea who Frank Sidebottom was until now. At first this fact kind of made me dislike the film a little bit, since what I thought original really wasn´t, but then it seems the script is based on real experience. In the end, one thing for another, inspiration can arrive from anywhere, it doesn´t really matter if the film borrows or not. It´s not supposed to have anything to do with Sidebottoms and, in any case, it´s not enough for it to be a reasonable criticism and I don´t really care for any of it.
Having that little controversy out of the way, it´s got to be said, Frank does for pseudo-intelectual art pop what The Commitments did for soul or Crossroads did for blues. A mediocre kid gets inside a world he doesn´t understand and the audience probably won´t either. There is no need to explain much. The rhythm section is weird cause they´re weird, it´s not important, Maggie Gyllenhaal´s character is detestable, yes, that´s why she´s known as the crazy b**ch, and Frank wears a fake head just because. It´s all a great depiction of this kind of isolated artists who, talented or not, follow their passion with an obnoxious strictness, who don´t hold back any of their follies and emotional imbalances, who might change their minds every second and still be convinced they´re making absolute sense. These misfits exist, and the films honours all the weirdness without judging it, after all, the main character is craving to belong. Domhnall Gleeson´s stiff acting fits the plot, he´s suposed to be lame. He is in no position to ever understand the importance of creative control or edgy integrity. It might not mean anything, it might not even be there to begin with. He has no clue. All of these are complicated, unpopular matters dealt with simplicity and inteligence. More important than that, I found it hilarious right from the first scene. Frank worryingly asking before the big show "so they don´t know us and love us?" had me laughing like Muttley, for real.