Prey for Rock & Roll (2003)
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Theatrical Release: Oct 3, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: Two days before her 40th birthday, Los Angeles rock musician/tattoo artist Jacki (Gina Gershon) is considering throwing in the towel on her her dreams of stardom. As frontwoman for the all-female band Clam Dandy, she gets the band booked in plenty of local clubs, but the big break she keeps... Two days before her 40th birthday, Los Angeles rock musician/tattoo artist Jacki (Gina Gershon) is considering throwing in the towel on her her dreams of stardom. As frontwoman for the all-female band Clam Dandy, she gets the band booked in plenty of local clubs, but the big break she keeps hoping for never seems to materialize. To add to her frustration, her band resembles a dysfunctional family: drummer Sally (Shelly Cole), the band's youngest member, is the live-in lover of guitarist Faith (Lori Petty), and bassist Tracy (Drea De Matteo), is an addict whose habits are funded by her wealthy father. Jacki's luck seems to be on the upswing when a record company rep begins coming to the band's shows and she gains a budding romantic interest in Sally's ex-con brother, Animal (Marc Blucas)--but she can rest assured that all obstacles are not behind her. Based on Cheri Lovedog's autobiographical rock musical of the same name, PREY FOR ROCK AND ROLL offers an electric, true-to-life portrait of the struggles of a working rock band. Gina Gershon, in a formidably strong and sexy performance, sings all her own vocals in a series of fierce, punky songs also written by Lovedog. Petty, De Matteo, and Cole, who learned their respective instruments for the film, also turn in excellent work in this gritty look at the elusiveness of the rock-and-roll dream. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Gina Gershon, Drea de Matteo, Marc Blucas, Lori Petty, Shelly Cole
Producer: Donovan Mannato, Gina Resnick, Gina Gershon
Screenwriter: Cheri Lovedog, Robin Whitehouse
Composer: Cheri Lovedog
DVD Info
Release:
Mar 9, 2004
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Widescreen
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Stereo - English
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentaries
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage
- Extended Concert Footage
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
There's a sharp sense of honest rock-chick energy that draws us into this film, even when its story takes a few overwrought and melodramatic turns.
Cult favorite Gina Gershon is at the top of her smart, snarly game...
While it gets a good deal of the background right, the picture stumbles in the dramatic department.
Edgy, intense, and thoroughly engaging. What makes this movie work is Gina Gershon - the movie rests squarely on her shoulders and she never gives a false note.
Aside from Ms. Gershon's performance (none of the other cast members actually played), there's little to elevate the music -- or the movie -- above cliché.
Played with the right combination of weariness and optimism by Gina Gershon, Jacki will be recognizable to any woman who has ever strapped on a guitar and plugged in, as well as to those of us who have encountered her.
Despite all its angst and bitterness, Prey doesn't convey the pure appreciation of rock 'n' roll that goofy Jack Black embodies in School.
...a fairly enjoyable look at the trials and tribulations of an all-girl punk band.
It's a raw and raucous rock story that, for once, gets the big picture and the small details right.
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by: The Herb 11/21/03

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