Queen City Rocker

Here's a quirky little New Zealand gen-x rock and roll oddity (released on VHS in the states as TEARAWAY; possibly the only title that could be worse than QUEEN CITY ROCKER), this sleeper has moments of genuine power and the advantage of aching earnestness. The thumping soundtrack is chockful of up-and-coming mid-80s NZ bands you've never heard of (especially if you're from the west), but is surprisingly effective. None of the actors in this modest production will likely ever be nominated for anything other than "most horrific haircut," but lead Matthew Hunter smartly radiates the angsty alienation of surly late teendom as "Ska" and his punky girlfriend is also pretty effective. This is an early overseas reaction to MTV videos and the chop cut short attention span editing style is clearly an effort to do something of an updated music video version of REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Not entirely successful, but packs an occasional emotional wallop and is an interesting time capsule of mid-late 80s sensibilities regardless.

Not much plot here, but then, the story documents a quasi-episodic "Sid and Nancy" kind of adrenaline-based random reactionary world that a certain segment of post adolescents tend to dwell in. Nothing to spend ten bucks in a theater for, but certainly worth a spin if it ever appears late night on cable or on VH1's "MOVIES THAT ROCK."