NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Mike Kiker I really had high hopes for this movie. I wanted it to be a great rock film on par with "Almost Famous" or "That Thing You Do", and in a few ways it does get close. The period detail (cars, clothing and instruments) is really convincing, but the clichéd and messy plot, the writing, the acting, and the direction are the movie's downfall. I felt ZERO sympathy or empathy for any single character in this movie. The only time I actually cared for any character, was the girl who was committed by her parents because she tried LSD. I want to know what happened to her! That was a huge mistake leaving that sub-plot unresolved. I couldn't even bother to remember any of the characters' names for the sake of this review, that's how little I got emotionally invested.Speaking of unresolved, the whole movie is essentially unresolved. The ending is the absolute worst. It doesn't even really end. It just stops on a cliffhanger and pans over to the drummer/singer kid's sister, who by the way, her acting throughout the film was absolutely horrendous, and it was a complete slap-in-the-face to end the movie with her staring blankly at the camera, clearly reading her lines from a cue card and then dancing in the middle of the road (poorly I might add). I guess David Chase was trying to sum up the overall point of the story with this ending, but he chose to do it in the absolute worst way.As with any period piece, it's always strength to include great songs in the soundtrack, and the songs that they used here are absolutely some of the best of the era. Unfortunately, that's not the case with any of the cover versions or the original songs written and recorded for the film. They just don't sit well with the old songs, which is hard to do for most films. Some pull it off amazingly (again see "Almost Famous" or "That Thing You Do") and some fail miserably (besides this film, "Velvet Goldmine" & "Eddie & The Cruisers" also fail to deliver original music that could be thought of as representing the era in which their respective films are set).So, if you're looking for a great nostalgic piece of work, I would steer clear of this movie entirely, unless you're an absolute David Chase or James Gandolfini die-hard, which I'm not. Speaking of unresolved sub-plots, Gandolfini, although he's got top billing, is barely in the film, and he also has not 1, but 2 unresolved sub-plots, about possible infidelity and terminal cancer, both of which, had they been resolved could have made this movie so much better! So, in a way, that describes the film as a whole... Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

deemo31 That Thing You Do could have been a movie about me. Literally. From the one hit wonder to the father with the appliance store. Of course, I didn't end up with Liv Tyler. But that's another story entirely. "Not Fade Away" features another drummer from the same era, much like me. I guess all drummers had the same experiences? This story is a little more gritty and I think more accurately reflects what it was like to "be in a band" back then. The music/soundtrack is incredible. Watching the band progress and get better brings back a ton of memories for me. To those who never experienced this, perhaps this movie will not hit home. For those of us who lived through it, I think there will be lots of smiles and memories. Maybe not all of the memories good ones. But then again, what memory is all good? The father played by James Gandolfini is spot on. As is the conflict between his "hippie fag" son and him. Watching the characters progress from the time of the Kennedy Assassination to the onset of the English band invasion, the Stones, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, then the Rascals and new stuff that came along is all too accurate. It's also very cool to see the old instruments...Gretsch guitars (double anniversary) and drums, Fender amps and guitars, Ricks, just all the stuff all of us old rock and rollers remember. It was all new then. And it still plays today.The interaction between the musicians...who is a better singer, etc, is also spot on. And the love interest? She is one beautiful girl. Hell, she's like three beautiful girls.I suppose I like this movie because of the buttons it pushes for me. I understand that it won't do that for everybody. But for those who it does, you're going to love it.

tillzen As a fan of Mr. Chase I ached for this work to take off but it never does. The film fails primarily upon the page.It says little about the character of those heady times that were the 1960's. This failure is no easy task as rock music, suburban angst and the decade itself remain fertile with enough substance to fill 100 movies let alone 1. Where Chase fails first is in using the 60's as mere fashionable short hand. A news flash or a film clip without worthy exposition turns tempest to teapot. That the 60's and its artifacts are presented as mere fetish objects devalues that currency. It purchases clothes, cars and music rights without story ever rising above being a disposable trifle. The art direction is terrific and while accurate, it never connects actors to actions and exposition to plot. Too often anecdotes and pithy quotes substitute for genuine emotion, motivation or character. Luckily, the acting is fine. The best moments occur between James Gandolfini (the working class Dad) and John Magaro as his rock musician son.Their scenes crackled as no others did leaving the underwhelm pronounced. The female character's (clearly Mr. Chase's Achilles)are broadly drawn hysterical caricatures seemingly created mostly to advance the story of men. This was exemplified by Magaro professing to believing in a girlfriend whom we know nothing about. Equally inelegant were the fore-shadowed dramatic twists of staged fights, staged accidents and cancer as dramatic license. "Not Fade Away" was continuously so Hollywood soft that I found myself wishing that a Don Corleone type had read the script, met with David Chase and slapped his face yelling "Write like a man!"Ultimately this film seems unable to decide if it is a John Sayles' time capsule told within simple salt of the earth fables or is instead a history lesson told in the sound bites and cliff notes of genuine deep thinkers.It never chooses and it ends as it began; an exercise in excess signifying little. What a waste of a green light and 20 million dollars.

doug_park2001 It's no great spoiler to say that NOT FADE AWAY shows, in terms that are both cynical and sentimental but above all, simply convincing, why the group formed by Douglas, Eugene, and company DID fade away--and, like many would-be successes, it wasn't due to lack of drive or talent.Very good filming, script, and acting/characterization. A large cast for a film of this sort--it sometimes becomes difficult to remember who's who. NOT FADE AWAY captures the 60s quite well, showing how the decade of phonograph records and the Vietnam War was different but still quite the same as our own era. A lot of realistically interesting things happen even though there is very little in the way of serious tension and surprises. The way the whole story is framed as a collegiate essay by the lead singer's younger sister is an interesting device. Fine ending that left me with an initial "Huh?" feeling but after taking a few seconds to sink in, could not have made the story's point more clearly.