One of those movies that you don't hear a lot about, and it's not bad, really, for a music group's outright propaganda piece: herein promoting the soulful funk/disco outfit Earth, Wind & Fire. And with Harvey Keitel as a sane version of record-producing phenom Phil Spector, this should've been a goldmine... or at least silver...
But the problem with THAT'S THE WAY OF THE WORLD is it spends too much time on an uninteresting romance between Keitel's Coleman Buckmaster and the lead singer of a white milquetoast singing trio, who have as little talent as Earth, Wind & Fire's fictional band The Group has soul and motivation...
Sadly, we only see the latter jamming twice: the best during an opening credit sequence liken to, say, a car racing flick with a line of rod rods revving at the starting gate as The Group warms up each instrument with funky delight...
Then when Keitel's given the task to instead record a single for the other outfit, called The Pages, the ingenue alone is the best thing going: But mostly for her looks: think exploitation starlet Angel Tompkins had she joined The Partridge Family...
Introducing Cynthia Bostick as one of those progressive 1970's women who says what she means and holds little back, acting like cocky go-to dudes did in the 1950's while making the producer/artist courtship anything but subtle, or intriguing. She practically throws herself into Keitel's arms, and there could have been some worthy sparks flying, especially in the recording studio where things go way too easily for both...
As an actress, Bostick only has three credits to her name (the rest on television). And ironically, the only other potentially great character is played by a tough looking Italian with this his sole effort, named Charles McGregor, as a mobster-like industry mogul, who seems more fitting a movie where a far too subdued Keitel would have fit much better. He has a way of making threats without saying much to his sellout underlings Michael Dante and Ed Nelson, both repeating the exposition/plotline mantra: that Keitel's "Buck" needs to think about money over artistic integrity...
So it's that much more frustrating for Earth, Wind & Fire not having a more active part, musically and otherwise, and it seems like Maurice White and company were ready and willing: this could have been their very own ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, and four years beforehand.
Ultimately, a fantastic twist end explaining how Keitel bedded down the ingenue so quickly, and without any obstacles, makes up for the slow, uneventful buildup. But overall, as an attempted realistic/edgy glimpse into the music industry, THAT'S THE WAY OF THE WORLD simply doesn't pay enough dues.
