This tuneful comedy drama of a bands rise and decline comes from those Hollywood Shuffle bright sparks Robert Townsend and Keenan Ivory Wayans. It died a horrible death in the US, a fate it did not deserve.
True, its mood shifts from near-parody to murder, from brotherly love to tragedy are not always accomplished with finesse, and it has large portions of the corn and cliché that are staples of the showbiz movie. Nevertheless, much of this tale of five bonded-for-life buddies whose musical journey takes us from street doo-wop and 60s R&B through rock n soul and 70s funk to a gospel accompanied funeral some 20 years on is lively and entertaining.
The band itself comprises the usual mix of characters in a Temptations, Four Tops kind of way in Townsends earnest composer Duck, Leons ladykiller JT, Wrights self-destructive bad boy lead singer Eddie, Lennixs staid bass Dresser and Wells Choirboy, the ministers son who sings falsetto, all of them nicely played and plausibly capable singer/dancers.
Its all here: the racist humiliations on the road, the crooked record label exploitation, the shocking suits, the gold discs, magazine covers, flash cars, drugs and furious fallings out. There are disarmingly ingenuous, funny scenes like Duck and his soul-wailing baby sister devising a hit song in their pjs, and the saga is enlivened by good little touches like men protecting their dos by sleeping with pantyhose on their heads, and the weed who does put wadding down his stage trousers. Loved the choreography.