Suck (2009)

A comedy centered on a rock 'n' roll band that will do anything to become famous.

Director:

Rob Stefaniuk

Writer:

Rob Stefaniuk

Stars:

Rob Stefaniuk, Jessica Paré, Paul Anthony

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rob Stefaniuk	...	Joey
Jessica Paré	...	Jennifer
Paul Anthony	...	Tyler
Mike Lobel	...	Sam
Chris Ratz	...	Hugo
Alice Cooper	...	Bartender
Moby	...	Beef
Henry Rollins	...	Rockin' Roger
Iggy Pop	...	Victor
Dimitri Coats	...	Queeny
Dave Foley	...	Jeff
Alex Lifeson	...	Border Guard
Malcolm McDowell	...	Eddie Van Helsing
Carole Pope	...	Club Bouncer
Barbara Mamabolo	...	Danielle

Storyline

In Montreal, Joey is the lead singer of the struggling band "The Winners", composed by the sexy bass singer Jennifer, the guitarist Tyler, the drummer Sam and the handyman Hugo. Their incompetent and alcoholic manager Jeff is incapable to help them to reach success and they are on the road on tour playing in clubs and bars in Canada and United States of America. After a show in a bar in Montreal, Jennifer, who is also the Joey's former girlfriend, leaves the place with the creepy Queeny, who is a vampire, and they spend the night together. On the next morning, Jennifer does not meet the band and they travel in their hearse to participate in a rock 'n' roll show without her. In the last moment, Jennifer arrives with a different appearance and on the next day they find that their home page had had several hits, all of them with good reviews and compliments to Jennifer. They become famous and Jennifer great audiences to the shows of "The Winners" and one by one, the musicians are turned ...

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | band | vampire hunter | rock concert | supernatural power | 

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Taglines:

Vampires rock.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for vampire violence/gore, language and drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 February 2011 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Koszmar

Filming Locations:

Toronto Film Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capri Films,Capri Vision,Téléfilm Canada

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alice Cooper included the line "...,welcome to my nightmare" in his final dialogue. The title of one of his highest grossing albums and most popular songs.

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Goofs

When the band is visiting Susan's work film set, Susan asks Joey about their upcoming gig "Will Jessica be there?" Should have been "Jennifer" who was played by Jessica Paré

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Quotes

Tyler: Woah! We're sleeping in the hearse tonight?

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Crazy Credits

Credits show a dedication to Rob's father: In Loving Memory Of My Father RON STEFANIUK SR.

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Connections

References Gremlins (1984)

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Soundtracks

Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
Written by Lou Reed
Performed by The Velvet Underground
Published by Spirit One Music o/b/o Oakfield Avenue Music Ltd. (BMI)
Courtesy of Warner Music Canada Co.

User Reviews

Suck doesn't

I'll skip the review of the regular stuff and jump right to what makes this movie unique. First off, we get a parade of cameos from legendary alt-rockers We have Alice Cooper as the headmaster vampire (not far from his real life persona), Iggy Pop as a hopelessly old school studio engineer, Henry Rollins as a hilarious loud mouthed DJ, Alex Lifeson (guitarist extraordinaire for Rush) as a creepy border crossing guard, Carole Pope (80s punk icon) as a club bouncer, Moby as an arrogant rival band singer, and who knows, probably a few more I missed.

"Suck" relies on these cameos to give the audience a little wink. So if you're unfamiliar with these people, you might miss out. It's never too late to look them up on youtube though. There are other little inside jokes too; for example, there are a number of visual homages to famous album covers (if nothing else, you'll recognize Abbey Road). Digging deeper, there are funny ironies such as Moby playing a character named "Beef" whose gimmick is to play with raw meat on stage. In real life, Moby is a strict vegan... and it's hilariously obvious that the "raw meat" is nothing more than some strips of rubber with red food dye.

A lot of this stuff comes at you fast, and even the most hardcore fans will probably miss a few gags. So don't worry if you have to watch the movie multiple times.

OK, all that aside, the story itself is pretty basic but with an interesting metaphorical spin to it. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's not a movie about vampires as much as it's about the vices of success... whether we're talking about drugs, glamour, or "selling out". How far will a struggling musician go to win fame? And at what cost? That's basically the only serious part of the film, and the rest is totally tongue-in-cheek. Don't expect realism. In its place expect absurdist humor (such as the fact that nobody gets caught for murdering people in the open, or live on national radio). Again, this may be a metaphor for the fact that many famous musicians never got caught for their extravagant drug habits even though they flaunted it in public. With that in mind, "Suck" becomes a biting satire of not just the fame-seeking rock stars, but also of the mindless fans who will condone and glorify anything.

I saved one of the best performances for last. Malcom McDowell plays an ominous character with a fetish for flashlights. He brings his usual larger-than-life presence to the screen but with a nice comedic air. Check out the outtakes on the DVD and you'll see that he had a great time playing the part.

Even if you have no idea who some of these famous cult musicians are, you'll still find the movie entertaining, funny & interesting from start to finish. Similar films include the Australian flick "Garage Days" by Alex Proyas, "Thunderstruck" (about a bunch of AC/DC obsessed fans), and on the more serious side, "Sympathy for Delicious" which tells a great rock'n'roll metaphor.

But like I said up front, this film's power lies in its ability to connect with "cult audiences" using cameo appearances to create quirky characters. In that respect I'd compare it to "Coffee and Cigarettes" by Jim Jarmusch (featuring Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, The White Stripes, etc). If you recognize at least 50% of the people I've mentioned, then don't hesitate to see this flick.