Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

George Hickenlooper

Writer:

George Hickenlooper (writer)

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Tagline:

You Should Have Been There ...

Plot:

A look at the history of fame in the world through the eyes of pop star impresario, Rodney Bingenheimer

Plot Keywords:

D.J. | Eccentric | Celebrity | Retrospective | Music Promoter

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Rodney Bingenheimer	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tori Amos	...	Herself
Billie Joe Armstrong	...	Himself (as Green Day)
Beck	...	Himself
Jello Biafra	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bing Bingenheimer	...	Himself
Zelda Bingenheimer	...	Herself
D.J. Bonebrake	...	Himself
Sonny Bono	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Bowie	...	Himself
Leo Braudy	...	Himself
Clem Burke	...	Himself
Neve Campbell	...	Herself
Belinda Carlisle	...	Herself
Chris P. Carter	...	Himself
Exene Cervenka	...	Herself
Camille Chancery	...	Herself
Cher	...	Herself
Tre Cool	...	Himself (as Green Day)
Alice Cooper	...	Himself
Elvis Costello	...	Himself
Bing Crosby	...	Himself (archive footage)
Cherie Currie	...	Herself
Tony Curtis	...	Himself (archive footage)
Michael Des Barres	...	Himself
Pamela Des Barres	...	Herself
Henry Diltz	...	Himself
Dion DiMucci	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mike Dirnt	...	Himself (as Green Day)
John Doe	...	Himself
Denny Doherty	...	Himself (archive footage)
Micky Dolenz	...	Himself (archive footage)
India Dupré	...	Herself
John Easdale	...	Himself
'Mama' Cass Elliot	...	Herself (archive footage)
Corey Feldman	...	Himself
Kim Fowley	...	Himself
Liam Gallagher	...	Himself
Noel Gallagher	...	Himself
Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Herself
Leigh Gorman	...	Himself
Jed 'The Fish' Gould	...	Himself (as Jed the Fish)
Green Day	...	Themselves
Deborah Harry	...	Herself
George Hickenlooper	...	Himself
William Holden	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rock Hudson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mick Jagger	...	Himself
Joan Jett	...	Herself
David Johansen	...	Himself (archive footage)
Davy Jones	...	Himself
Kato Kaelin	...	Himself
Liza Kumjian-Smith	...	Herself
Janet Leigh	...	Herself (archive footage)
John Lennon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jerry Lee Lewis	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lance Loud	...	Himself
Courtney Love	...	Herself
Annabella Lwin	...	Herself
John Lydon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ray Manzarek	...	Himself
Johnny Marr	...	Himself
Chris Martin	...	Himself
Dean Martin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Paul McCartney	...	Himself
Miss Mercy	...	Herself
Kramer Morgenthau	...	Himself
Jim Morrison	...	Himself (archive footage)
Michael Nesmith	...	Himself (archive footage)
Yoko Ono	...	Herself (archive footage)
John Phillips	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mackenzie Phillips	...	Herself
Michelle Phillips	...	Herself (archive footage)
Poe	...	Herself
Iggy Pop	...	Himself (archive footage)
Monique Powell	...	Herself
Elvis Presley	...	Himself (archive footage)
Domenic Priore	...	Himself
Joey Ramone	...	Himself (archive footage)
Keanu Reeves	...	Himself
Paul Reubens	...	Himself
Linda Ronstadt	...	Herself (archive footage)
Gavin Rossdale	...	Himself (credit only)
David Lee Roth	...	Himself (archive footage)
Brooke Shields	...	Herself
Frank Sinatra	...	Himself (archive footage)
Nancy Sinatra	...	Herself
Phil Spector	...	Himself
Gwen Stefani	...	Herself
Chris Stein	...	Himself (archive footage)
Danny Sugerman	...	Himself (as Danny Sugarman)
Peter Tork	...	Himself (archive footage)
Pete Townshend	...	Himself
Frankie Valli	...	Himself (archive footage)
Edward Van Halen	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ronald Vaughan	...	Himself / Isadore Ivy:Spaceman-at-Large
Sid Vicious	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Wendt	...	Himself
Louise Wener	...	Herself
Jane Wiedlin	...	Herself (archive footage)
Brian Wilson	...	Himself
Carnie Wilson	...	Herself
Lisa Worden	...	Herself
X.	...	Themselves (as X)
Neil Young	...	Himself
Rob Zombie	...	Himself
Billy Zoom	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content/nudity, language and some drug references.

Runtime:

Canada:94 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Australia:M | Ireland:15A | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Caldera Productions

Trivia:

After making its world premiere as the Centerpiece Film of the 2003 IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival the movie sold to First Look Media and Lakeshore Entertainment for $1.3 million, making it the second highest selling documentary of all time, next to Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine (2002).

Quotes:

Rodney Bingenheimer: [pointing to a frame on his wall] Elvis Presley's driver's license.

Movie Connections:

Features "Hullabaloo" (1965)

Soundtrack:

All The Madmen

Rodney who? Watch and find out...

According to this film, the 'Mayor of the Sunset Strip' is Rodney Bingenheimer. Rodney who? Well, watch this fascinating documentary, directed by George Hickenlopper (HEARTS OF DARKNESS : A FILMMAKER'S APOCALYPSE), and find out! Bingenheimer is seemingly the kind of selfless guy who appears to have initially been a kind of male groupie in the 60s and who subsequently unconditionally promoted U.S. and U.K. rock and pop acts through his L.A. based 'Rodney on the Roq' radio show and is acclaimed in almost reverential tones by those who owe their Stateside break to the airplay which apparently broke them through to the U.S. mainstream. As these artists include the likes of Brian Wilson, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Oasis and Coldplay (not sure I can forgive Rodney those last two), and given that the soundtrack includes these bands and many more individuals and groups (e.g. including a certain Mr. Bowie) which would have set virtually any other movie back several million greenbacks had they not offered their tracks for the minimum cost required to sort the legal paperwork, one can see how revered this apparently somewhat impoverished starmaker is (although his collection of pop memorabilia could set him up for several lifetimes should he choose to part with it). A Zelig-like figure whom the film's archival footage (filmed and photographic) shows to have been present at virtually all the epochal rock moments of the last 40 years, as well as one whose life has perhaps not turned out to be as successful as one might expect (the man still appears to dine at Denny's, for crying out loud!) and who seems to have been let down by those who might have reciprocated more kindly for the leg-up he appears to have given them, is well-served by this compassionate, occasionally hilarious (the Cherie Currie story about sinister svengali producer/performer Kim Fowley and his punchy riposte is a hoot) and ultimately rather sad and cautionary tale of the darker side of the American Dream. A man who, as my friend pointed out afterwards, appears to have inspired The Ramones' choice of tonsorial grooming and who still appears to be occasionally mistaken for The Monkees' Davy Jones (he originally auditioned for Jones' role and was sometimes deployed as his double which, if nothing else, seems to have added a few notches to his bedpost) and whose sad-faced countenance speaks more vividly of a lifetime of let-downs than any rancid verbal outpourings (he actually seems too polite to engage in on-screen badmouthing of even those who might deserve a well-aimed verbal broadside), this features an engaging mixture of talking head and rare archival footage and entertains as it delivers an impressionistic vulture's eye view of the West Coast zeitgeist, leaving one in no doubt that the film's title appropriately rests on this unlikely, slightly-built and spindly-legged character. An enlightening documentary, and highly recommended fare with no 'dead air'.