Very disappointing...

Sadly Over-hyped

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Since I was a teen in the 70's, this movie is soooo up my alley and soooo reminiscent of experiences then. I can understand that for anyone not of this era or not going through the aging process that we all go through (good Lord willing), this movie may not be as enjoyable (relatable). So that could be the one fault. Yet the acting is fabulous (Astrid actress deserved an Oscar!), the characters are fantastically "real" and quite funny, the portrayal of what bands go through to try and make it (or make a come back)... the struggles, the arguments, the egos hiding the frailties are absolutely spot on. I am totally transported to the back stage during performances of the Strange Fruit rock band and can feel the euphoria, thrill, soul-reaching and binding music and rhythm. Love it like crazy.

Don't expect "This Is Spinal Tap", even though DVD packaging, advertising and movie critics might lead you to that expectation. True, "Still Crazy" is about an aging 70s rock band staging a flaccid comeback, but that's where the similarities end."Spinal Tap" delved into the utterly absurd and featured songs whose lyrics were so laughably adolescent that you'd have tears streaming from your eyes before the 1st chorus ends. What's brilliant about it is that, despite its outrageousness, "Spinal Tap" was basically a true chronicle of rock history, with only some exaggerations. It was a case of absurdity being more real than reality.Here in "Still Crazy", there are no disastrous hijinks (except maybe the first 5 minutes when the band gets struck by lightning), and the characters aren't as phenomenally thick and/or stumbling drunk as you'd expect rockers to be in a comedy. Contrast this against the reality of, say, Jimi Hendrix splitting the seat of his pants onstage at the Isle of Wight, or Ozzy Osbourne mumbling incoherently about sniffing a horse's butt (on "The Last Supper"), and immediately you get the feeling that "Still Crazy" didn't go as far as it could have.OK, that's where my criticism ends. If you can get past the idea that this is not a nonstop laugh riot, you can really enjoy the movie for its story and characters. The story is linear and mostly predictable, but there are enough twists & turns to keep you entertained. And the characters, particularly the lead singer Ray, have a way of endearing themselves to you like a lost puppy dog."Still Crazy" is not a spoof of rock music. It's a pretty realistic story of a bunch of geezers rekindling their musical dreams and having some good & bad times along the way. The music was written by Mick Jones of Foreigner, so it's pretty good with some rousing numbers toward the end. This is an entertaining film from start to finish.If you want a riotously funny spoof, check out "Spinal Tap", "The Rocker", "Music & Lyrics" or the hilarious documentary "Anvil! The story of Anvil". I would put "Still Crazy" in the category of a light comedy like "Face the Music", "Pirate Radio" or the obscure gem "Ladies and Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains".

Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais have a solid hit rate as far as their TV work is concerned. However, their film work has been much more chequered (2008's The Bank Job was fine, the previous year's Across The Universe decidedly weak, for instance).Still Crazy, fortunately, is a solid success. It has a great story, excellent performances, a lot of humour, fabulous music and, above everything else, real heart.I savour "moments", and this film has one of them - just when everything is going pear-shaped at the festival reunion performance...Hugely enjoyable.

Saw this movie on premium TV HBO, showtime, or starz and could not believe it was not a big hit. Soundtrack as all comments I've read was excellent and all round just a damn good flick. I have had a Tivo for about 8 months and have been looking for this movie but it has not been on at all. I guess I'll give it another couple months and then breakdown and buy the DVD. If you are a fan of 60's/70's rock this is a must see and probably a must have. I sang in rock and roll bands as a young man and really got every thing they went and were going thru. I had never seen Bill Nighy (or at least had never noticed him) until I saw this movie. I really started to be a fan after watching a few more of his movies including a little gem called (i think) "the girl in the cafe".