Murder Ballads: How to Make It in Rock ‘N’ Roll – Movie Review
First Reaction – Murder Ballads: How to Make It in Rock ‘N’ Roll gives us an oddball comedy.
Watch Murder Ballads: How to Make It in Rock ‘N’ Roll on streaming from 15th April.
Director: Mitchell Tolliday
Writer: Neil Rickatson, Mitchell Tolliday (Screenplay)
Cast
- Simon Callow (The Phantom of the Opera)
- Marcus Massey (Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2)
- Lauren Cornelius (Doctor Who)
- Niccy Lin (Office Secrets)
- Mike Kelson (Accident Man)
Plot: Six interconnected stories tell the rapid rise and violent fall of rock band ‘Stack of Corpses’
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Murder Ballads: How to Make It in Rock ‘N’ Roll starts when Stack of Corpses searches for their latest hit song. Lead singer Brian (Connor) lets others do the work with Bass (Mcateer) and Drums (de Belder) stealing the song from famous deceased songwriter Richard O’Keefe (Callow). Elsewhere, Keys (Wilde) joins the band, leaving Bass and Drums questioning their place in the band.
As the band become a significant success, they begin falling apart as their pasts begin to haunt them. However, how can they hold things together as their manager has his own problems?
Verdict on Murder Ballads: How to Make It in Rock ‘N’ Roll
Recap
The movie follows the members of a band and their manager as they deal with various problems. It follows the members trying to find a new song, the manager doing shady dealings and a new member settling in.
Best Parts
The oddball comedy moments make for fun sketches with a series of different problems to overcome. It feels rock ‘n’ roll with the way the chaos unfolds when the band gets successful. The performances are fun, and the humour lands in the moments needed to lighten the mood.
Worst Parts
While the comedy works for the most part, it does feel like a series of sketches rather than a connected story. This can hold things back in places when it comes to the bigger story being told.
Final Thoughts –Murder Ballads: How to Make It in Rock ‘N’ Roll has some good laughs for the chaotic story.
