Matthew
Sweet is the Grunge version of Eddie Wilson from Eddie and the Cruisers. He only cut one classic album, but many fans
still believe he faked his own death to avoid the onslaught of fame. After all,
no corpse was ever recovered from his misadventure on that fateful bridge. His
former girlfriend has sort of moved on, in a wounded, self-destructive kind of
way. However, she will have to seek some closure whether she wants to or not in
Megan Griffiths’ Lucky Them (trailer here), which screens
during the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.
Music
critic-journalist Ellie Klug has a bad reputation for sleeping with musicians
and blowing off deadlines. She has managed to get by on her street cred as the
woman who was there when the Seattle scene exploded, but the editor of Stax is
finally ready to cut her loose (really, an alt rock magazine named after one of
the all time great soul record labels?). She has one last chance. Her
assignment (that she must accept) will be to follow-up on a new lead on Sweet’s
whereabouts and hopefully score a reunion for her readers. Reluctantly partnering
up with a wealthy old flame who now fancies himself a documentary filmmaker,
Klug sets off in search of Sweet.
Lucky Them largely follows
the conventions of road movies, but it has a good handle on the witty and
insightful people who practice music criticism. Tough and earthy, yet also
vulnerable, Toni Collette’s work as Klug follows vaguely in the tradition of
Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday.
She also develops some appealing comedic chemistry with Thomas Haden Church,
whose trademark deadpan delivers consistently scores solid laughs. Lucky Them also features a surprise
cameo from a genuinely big name who typically commands a pay check greater than
the film’s presumed budget. Even more impressively, Joanne Woodward (real
Hollywood royalty) served as an executive producer, which probably explains the
mystery guest’s participation. You do not say no to Ms. Woodward if you have
any understanding of the history of your craft.
