My review of the film 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll'

January 11th (my birthday)

On the way home we discussed whether or not we should go and see ‘Sex & Drugs & Rock n Roll’ featuring Andy Serkis. I was in two minds about it, because after seeing ‘Ray’, I told myself I wouldn’t watch any more biographies because they simply are never interesting enough. This film however was in a league of its own, it was superbly acted by everyone, especially Serkis, it wasn’t the usual simplistic approach of ‘well this happened so this is why they are like this’, and of course, the music was great. Now, I know and like a few of Ian Dury’s songs, as they are always played on the radio, but to my wife they meant something, because she had liked them when they first came out. What was quite funny was the other “show” that was going on just to the right of us in the cinema. A man of about 50 years old had obviously dragged his wife along to see this, but she was not happy at all. Throughout much of the film she was sat rigid in her chair, sometimes with her hands over her ears, while he was nodding his head along to every song that started playing. He also did that thing of laughing louder than was natural, because he had spotted an ‘in joke’ or a reference. Is this some sort of signal or wild call that people make hoping that others in the audience will be impressed that they had spotted it as well. Or was it a ‘look at me I’m cool, I was there man, you wouldn’t understand’.