Groove Directed by: Greg Harrison Dave's Rating: B Every genre of music has it's noteworthy film that tries to define what that particular form or movement of music is really trying to say or express. Breakdancers had their break dancing movies in the early 1980s, such as Breakin and Beat Street. People who got more than a kick out of the twist got their film Don't Knock the Twist. The number of disco films in existence far exceeds the limit of films that should be allowed about a particular genre of music, but I forgive them every time with my all time favorie, Xanadu. Who would have thought Gene Kelley would ever be in a film with Olivia Newton-John? Music makes it all happen. You name the music, there's a film that centers around it. Raves and Electronic Dance music is more than an underground movement now days, and some may call that a shame. But it makes for an interesting movie, and the latest attempt at capturing the mood and atmosphere of the rave culture is Groove. Groove, in its technique, is independent. You've never seen any of these actors before, and for some viewers, you may have never heard as good as music as this before. Like all great films about music, Groove lets the music be the main character in which all other plots and characters revolve around. The film, directed by Greg Harrison, centers on a group of twenty somethings
in San Francisco putting on raves, or attending them, in a abandoned warehouse.
There's a dozen subplots in the film involving romance, drugs, and local
law enforcement. Some of these side stories are quite silly, while others
seem appropriate for the film. Everything about the film is amateur, but
the film would have folded in on itself if it wouldn't have been. Nobody
working in Hollywood on a big budget could put out a film like this and
still capture the atmosphere that Groove does. There's a documentary
persona to film at points, sort of a "night in the life of" approach.
It's a party film, while at the same time a character and situation sketch
that works on most levels. If anything, I would see the film solely for
the musical element. The film keeps a moving beat all the way through, just
like a good album you swear is as close to heaven as you can get to ]on
earth. If you like music, you'll dig Groove. If you dig Olivia Newton-John,
Xanadu is out on tape. |
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