A Cautionary Tale about Bands and Egos

Rating: 10/10 (5 September 2009)

There so much to love about this movie, and I am watching it on television 18 years after I saw it for the first time. In the meantime, I was in a band and could see that there are parallel processes of coming together to make a great sound and dissolving internally due to personality conflicts, artistic differences and egotism.
The story of the Commitments is the story of so many bands. The best they can do is make others happy when they perform, but their personal lives are in ruins and the performers can barely keep it together when the show is over.
The music from the Commitments is one of the great all-time movie albums. The covers they perform of great soul sounds are better than, or at least as good as, the originals. I bought the tape, then later, the CD, which I wore out and replaced. It never seems to get old.
After all this time, only a few of the players did another film. This was it for most of them, and it was enough. One great film that never gets old. The finest soundtrack ever made, and music that never dies.