A box office failure due to a very poor distribution, "Eddie Reynolds" is becoming, nonetheless, a cult film. The biggest compliment I can pay to Moheno's production is to say that it really has got soul. It's memorably gritty at times (the swear-word count is exceptionally high) and also proves wonderfully funny and touching. This is much more than a bog-standard rock comedy. The dialogue has a splendid sarky wit and the exhilaration of making music is beautifully caught. There's a strong sense that for these characters being in a band offers the one real chance of hope and escape. But perhaps that is to make the show sound too solemn. What really strikes home when you are watching it is the personality clashes between the band members, and the exhilaration when they put their art on stage. The star performance, though, comes from Arturo Rios as the prodigious guitar player, Santos. He is memorably obnoxious and steals the show from Damian Alcazar. Needless to say, it's this demented and barely house-trained ego tripper who sows the seeds of the band's destruction, but when Rios is in full anger, this hugely enjoyable movie touches the sublime.
