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Reviews
Roadies (2016)
Ten perfect episodes
I just finished the last episode, and I can already tell this is going to be a show I come back to every couple years, when I need a laugh and a sweet nostalgic look at the live music business as it once was.
Cameron Crowe is a great story teller in almost any medium, but he really makes episodic television work. The regular cast is incredible, and there are delightful and surprising cameos by A-list musicians, both new and old, throughout the series. The final episode is absolutely packed with rock stars, and it all makes sense and works for the story.
The cinematography and lighting and sets, etc. Are as good as you'd expect from a multiple Academy Award winner with decades of experience who has first-hand experience of the industry the show is about. I'm a musician and have worked as a sound person (though never touring or at the scale of the roadies here), and almmost everything about the work rings true, if exaggerated for comedic effect or to propel the story along. I think working roadies, and touring musicians, will feel good about it.
Speaking of casting, Imogen Poots and Ron White, in particular, are worth mentioning for their performances. White's a great comedian, but I didn't expect him to provide a tear-inducing dramatic performance...and yet, here we are. Great casting. And, Poots is just the right combination of tough, innocent, and thoughtful to turn Kelly Ann into something more than a caricature of a bright-eyed kid getting lost in the whirlwind of show business.
If you enjoyed Almost Famous, you'll love this. In fact, with more time to settle in and really get to know all the players, this may be an even better story.
Extremely underrated television. It's funny and sweet and well worth your time.