Article originally published as SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL Review on Seat42F.
The
concept of FX’s SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL is simple enough. There
are two former band mates who once made beautiful music together, but
split up because the lead let his ego get in the way of their
friendship. When a previously unknown child shows up and wants to force
the two to work together for her own gain, there is suddenly a glimmer
of hope that the magic lost can be recaptured.
The pilot of
SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL gets through a lot in the initial set
up. At the start of the half hour, we see Johnny Rock (Denis Leary,
Rescue Me) at his low point. Unable to sell albums, he’s fifty and has
no direction. This is actually a fascinating, if depressing, character,
but the show leaves little time to dwell on it, quickly bringing his
daughter, Gigi (Elizabeth Gillies, Victorious), into the mix to drive
forward her plot.
Letting Gigi hijack Johnny’s story is
kind of the point of her character, and it rips Johnny away from his
dwelling. I can’t help but feel, though, that this abandoned thread
could definitely be mined for really good drama if given the chance.
Gigi doesn’t make Johnny succeed, at least not yet, but I’m disappointed
not to get to explore Leary’s take on someone who just doesn’t know how
they’re going to keep living at middle age. The show may do so a bit
going forward, but clearly that won’t be his main thrust.
The second half of Johnny’s partnership
is Flash (John Corbett, Parenthood), who is touring with Lady Gaga and
finding steady work, if not fame in his own right, his solo effort not
doing so well. When Gigi makes Johnny approach Flash about teaming up
again, Flash is completely resistant to the idea, which makes sense,
given their history. He quickly changes his mind, but the viewer doesn’t
get a satisfactory answer as to why.
I think Flash is probably a character
that works, but SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL doesn’t take the time to
show us how, at least not in the pilot, which is baffling, since he
seems to be on the of the three central players. Flash obviously doesn’t
hate Johnny entirely, given the friendly reception he gives his pal,
but he is very firm on not working with Johnny again. He does come
across as too substantive to be swayed by the sexy picture of Gigi that
is supposed to be his draw, even if one could forgive him for letting
lust sway him. I’d like to think that the real reason Flash signs on is
because he wants the chance to make his own wonderful music again, but
that just doesn’t come through here.
SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL is an
interesting series, to be sure. The cast, which also includes Robert
Kelly (Louie), Elaine Hendrix (Joan of Arcadia), and John Ales, is an
interesting mix of experienced, but not super well known, players (other
than Leary and Corbett, of course). The world it inhabits is very
intriguing, and the show seems to take the rock landscape seriously,
giving an insider’s, but very personal, view of it. It is contemporary,
but with a spirit of the glory days of the genre, and the soundtrack,
which is at least partly original, enhances the piece pretty well.
I’m just hesitant to fully commit to it
yet. The way Flash is handled in the first episode is a huge sticking
point for me, leaving me feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Add that to
minimizing Johnny’s depths of despair and I worry very much that the
program will favor flash and chords over character development, which is
unusual for an FX series, and not a good sign. But lots of great shows
have rocky beginnings, so maybe the writers just weren’t quite sure how
to get to the story they wanted to tell right away, and once it settles
in, its problems will melt away. The bones of the piece could certainly
support a quality series. At least, I hope that might be the case.
SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL premieres Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.