Still Crazy

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Still Crazy
Directed by Brian Gibson
Produced by Amanda Marmot
Written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
Starring Stephen Rea, Billy Connolly, Bill Nighy, Timothy Spall, Jimmy Nail, Juliet Aubrey
Editing by Peter Boyle
Distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation, Marmot Tandy Productions, The Greenlight Fund
Release date(s) 30 October 1998
Running time 95 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Still Crazy is a 1998 comedy film about a fictional 70's rock band named "Strange Fruit", who, after being split up for several years, are convinced to get back together to perform at a reunion of the same concert venue where they played their last gig. The film focuses on the personal lives on all of the different members, and their individual experiences with approaching middle-age and the success that eluded them.

It was nominated for two Golden Globes in 1999, but received low attention given its cast lineup.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

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The film opens with the band performing at the Wisbech Rock Festival in 1977. Hughie (Billy Connolly) is giving a commentary of how, due to the pursuit of "fame, fortune, and fornication" (as well as the O.D. of their original singer, Brian's brother, Keith), that was their last performance. In the middle of their concert, lightning strikes the stage and the members take the hint and split up in frustration over competing egos and various member's lack of self-control.

The film then skips ahead 20 years to Tony Costello (Stephen Rea), who is in Ibiza. He is recognised as one of the members of Strange Fruit by a stranger at a cafe, whose father happened to be the organiser of the original Wisbech Festival. The stranger tells Tony that they are doing a Wisbech reunion concert and asks if Tony can reunite the band.

Tony quickly manages to track down Karen (Juliet Aubrey), the band's original runaround, or lackey who this time round becomes the band manager, who is now unhappily working in P.R.. She is at first reluctant to help with the reunion, but is inspired after finding some memorabilia in her garage.

Gradually, Karen and Tony track down the original members; Les (Jimmy Nail), who is a roofer with a family, David (Timothy Spall), who is working at a nursery and is being tracked down by the Inland Revenue, and Ray (Bill Nighy), who is living in a mansion with his Scandinavian wife, Astrid (Helena Bergstrom), and apparently working on a solo album. The final roadie, Hughie (Connolly), turns up unexpectedly. Brian (Bruce Robinson), who has been suffering over his brothers death, is presumed to have finally O.D.'d just like him, and is replaced by young Luke Shand (Hans Matheson) who admittedly has talent but doesn't really know what he's getting himself into.

All the members of the band end up agreeing to the rock festival performance, and the band starts touring Europe after Karen negotiates a tour with a record company executive who owns their original catalogue. Their initial performances aren't very good and they are poorly received by the younger generation. Ray is still under delusions of grandeur (even going so far as to mistake a delivery signature for a request for his autograph). Les still resents Ray for having replaced Keith, Brian's highly gifted brother, who died of a drug overdose. Les and Beano (and Hughie but he has little effect on the band) have little hope for the band, firmly believeing both Keith and then Brian were the main talent. Ray is not performing up to everyone's expectations out of a fear of growing old (he has a birthday while on tour). Tony begins to make advances to Karen, but she is reluctant as she had always been deeply attached to Brian.

After one of the tour gigs in which Ray insists on playing a Ziggy Stardust-like rendition of one of his old songs, Ray confronts Les telling him "I can feel your eyes in me back everytime I walk out on stage". Les tells Ray he's always hated Ray's lyrics that's why he never remembers them. Ray spits back that Les hates him simply because he's not Brian saying "It's not 'cause they're great, it's 'cause they're dead! Maybe if I was dead I'd get some respect." to which Les caustically replies "It would be a start". Ray has a breakdown, runs away from the gig and buys drugs from a man on the street (played by Mackenzie Crook) and falls into an icy canal. He is rescued by Claire (Karen's daughter) and his relationship with the band is bolstered when Tony tells Les that Ray tried to commit suicide. On the heels of their earlier conversation Les thinks Ray was trying to commit suicide for him and begrudgingly gives him a modicum of respect. Meanwhile Ray has an epiphany while in the canal that, although old, he's not dead.

After the bus breaks down and Karen confronts the band about the lack of confidence they meet a girl who's headed to Antwerp wearing an old Strange Fruit tour t-shirt. This is seen as one more in a growing number of signs to keep going, so they do. They gradually improve enough to play one successful show, with no onstage breakdowns, and their hopes look a little better. A week later there's a record deal and Ray lets Les sing (something his fragile ego could never handle before). However, after watching a previously taped interview with Zöe Ball on the television, in which Les and David (Beano) imply that the band was much better with Keith and Brian. Ray confronts Les and Beano revealing that they never forgave him for replacing Keith and quits altogether and the tour is cancelled.

As the band members return to their former lives Karen and Claire visit Keith's grave (to pay their respects to Brian since he didn't have a grave). There they find a note: "Even after all this time the flame still burns. Love you, man. Brian". Karen knows it's from the real Brian and refers to the song Les and Brian wrote after Keiths death (The Flame Still Burns). Karin and Claire confront Hughie, known to have always taken care of Brian, and get him to tell where to find Brian. Karen and Tony visit Brian, who has secluded himself to escape the world of booze and drugs that was killing him. He agrees to talk to the band and try to reconcile them to continue playing. His return brings the band back together to play at the reunion of the Wisbech Festival (including Ray). But a conflict during the opening press conference (with questions like "Was the breakdown chemically induced or was it a result of your brother's death?", "Were you really in a mental hospital?", and "Was the whole thing a publicity stunt?") proves too much for Brian and he backs out of the performance. In turn, Luke takes exception to the treatment Brian and the other band members receive from the press. As the rest of the band leaves the press conference, he stays behind to chastize the members of the media present at the gig, openly questioning their motives for even coming to the festival in the first place and telling them the original band members deserve more respect. As he leaves, Luke refers to the assembled press as "fucking wankers".

The supposed Inland Revenue lady (Frances Barber) ends up finding drummer David at the concert, revealing that he was in a band at the first rock concert she ever went to. Her father hence forbade her from listening to rock ever again. When Beano asks what she wants from him she simply says: "quick violent sex".

As the band begins to play one of their classics, old ghosts return and they begin to break down. However, they are rescued when Tony starts to play a song that meant much to the band (The Flame Still Burns) but was never played in any concerts due to tensions between Les and Ray. They perform it together, healing the tension, as they now have the measure of each other. Even Brian finds the memory and respect for his brother is more than his fears of the limelight and joins during the bridge to the surprise and delight of everyone.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The "Druid Circle" that the band visit is a real-life stone circle in Avebury, frequently referred to as the "Avebury Circle".
  • The Scottish band The Fratellis are big fans of the film. Their first album, Costello Music, is named after Tony Costello. They also thanked the band members of Strange Fruit during their acceptance speech for British Breakthrough Act at the 2007 BRIT Awards.

The career arc of Strange Fruit referenced career elements of several real-life acts, among whom were:

[edit] Quotes

Hughie: History teaches us that men behave wisely once they've exhausted all other alternatives.

Hughie: Divine intervention pulled the plug on The Fruits. I guess God gets tired of all that seventies excess - that's why he invented The Sex Pistols.

Karen: I want to stand in the dark and see an audience feel the way I do.
Hughie: Panic-stricken?

Hughie: If men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus then drummers... are from Pluto!

Beano: Hello, Cockney Rebel, cock and knee, bonus points for that one.

Beano: You know what they say, "If at first ye don't succeed...
Hughie: "...pull yer foreskin o'er yer head!"

Astrid Simms: Karen will get plane tickets, just give her your credit card number.
Ray Simms: I don't know my credit card number.
Astrid Simms: It's on your credit card, Ray.

Ray Simms[as he meditates]: I can see you Brian, so clearly, do you have a message?
Brian Lovell: Got a gig on Saturday man.

[edit] External links