Crazy is the story of a legendary guitar player who emerged from Nashville in the 1950s. Blessed with incomparable, natural talent, Hank Garland quickly established his reputation as the finest sessions player in Nashville.
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Don't listen to the negative reviews
A Masterpiece!
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
When I hear what passes for music in businesses and in movies and TV, I wonder if there is any hope. Then I watch a movie like this. All of the music is so good! The worst song is "Jingle Bell Rock", and that's only because I want my Christmas music very traditional.It's hard to believe a bad boy like Hank Garland can play the guitar in such a mellow style. Of course, he can do rock and roll, too, which is what someone like him would be expected to. But it's the good kind. And he seems happiest when he is playing.And then there is Wes Montgomery. Such a nice, pleasant jazz sound. As portrayed by Tony MacAlpine, he looks like he's mad at someone, or at the very least you don't want to mess with him. But he and his other musicians do easy listening right, with sort of an attitude to keep it from being boring.Nice restaurants also have a pleasant but more generic jazz sound.Mandy Barnett as Patsy Cline (who, ironically, is never shown singing the title song) and Shawn Colvin as Kitty Wells (I did not know who she was supposed to be) give great performances. They never speak lines, but that's not important.Jason Alan Smith as Elvis was a disappointment. He never speaks, but he has that trademark sneer on "Amazing Grace", which goes against the image of Elvis showing respect while singing gospel music.But this is more than just great music. Hank Garland starts out as a clean-cut kid, but later on as a respected backup performer, he has enough money to get what he wants, and manages to be charming with the women he can get, though men better not make him mad. All he seems to know how to do when angered is punch somebody. Fortunately for Evelyn, it's never her. Though once she is married to him, he tells her he cares and never manages to show it. His career is his first priority. There are women, but of course they don't mean anything--right? Garland does love their daughter, but he's hardly ever around. Nevertheless, Evelyn "stands by her man", but she does have needs.And while he claims to have co-written "Jingle Bell Rock", despite what the movie's credits say, he must deal with a system that makes him choose between being a performer and a writer. Garland wants to be both. And the people who don't want Garland going against the system can do more than just punch Garland's lights out. While much of the movie other than the music is unpleasant to watch, the acting performances are good. Ali Larter showed obvious concern, for example, when she noticed another woman looking at her husband. There's a reason for the movie's title (other than the Patsy Cline song that is limited to the closing credits) which I will only say is revealed in the first scene. Other than that, I feel I would be giving away too much. I have to wonder why "Sugarfoot" was not used as a title, since two songs with this name are Garland's trademarks, and this becomes a nickname. The movie deals with racism. Country/rock performer Garland discovers jazz and dares to enter an all-black club where the music is played. He is seen as an outsider, but once he starts playing that kind of music, this is no longer the case. But having a "colored man" in his group backfires once he returns to the South. Hotels won't welcome the man, and Evelyn claims she is trying to raise their daughter with the right values and can't have the likes of him around her. It's worth seeing, for the music if nothing else. Just remember Hank Garland went through so much misery to make us so happy.
I was expecting something along the lines of "Coal Miner's Daughter" or "Sweet Dreams" when telling the story of Hank Garland. To me it came across as a "first-time" movie that needed to be re-done to look more professional. I guess it's just me. However, the 1950's ambiance was fantastic with the fashion, furniture and especially the cars. WOW. I just wished they included more of the songs Hank Garland wrote. I did download the MP3 of the album and listen to it often. Spoiler ahead: The guy who played Elvis sings a fantastic version of "Amazing Grace". It sounded just like him. I just wish that was included in the MP3 soundtrack.
As part of the reviewing committee for the Breckenridge Festival of Film, I knew that "Crazy" was a film that had to be shown here!! Crazy won best drama and Waylon Payne won best actor. The music is fabulous as well as the directing, filming and costumes. For an indie, this is very professionally done.The movie is based on the true story of Hank Garland who played with the musical talents of Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline. I highly recommend this film. Here are some other comments from Breckfilmfest reviewers:Wow loved this film. very high quality and music was fantastic. story flowed well keeping the attention of those of us watching. watched this with friends and they all loved it and felt it would be film festival quality.Awesome film.....great acting...FABULOUS music. Totally enjoyed the docu/drama. A must for the fest.Very well done. A time piece and a great success. Sad story of Hank Garland. A very well told story. Just a bit slow in a couple of places. Good acting and casting and filming. Very well done.
"Crazy" held great appeal for me in that it was believable, cast well, had good content and stellar acting. I particularly enjoyed the opening scene, where and how it took the viewers and felt it was an easy movie to follow. I never got lost and or lose interest which happens with today's movies far too often. I was riveted to the screen from beginning to end. I loved the music (all of it), the authenticity of the sound, costumes, sets, colors, cars, instruments - for me, it all worked. I felt as though I was taken on a journey through the characters lives and could empathize with each and every one. I ran the gamut of emotions from joy, pain, frustration, hope, disappointment and ultimately wonder. The music was magnificent, great score. The actors morphed into their characters and were totally believable. I actually lost all track of time and was surprised and disappointed when the movie ended - I wanted more. Not being a huge fan of country music, yet loving music, I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it and now listen to the CD frequently, particularly the title song "Crazy" sung by Stacy Earl. I enjoyed the format of the movie and though it was dark, it had other elements that allowed me to forgive the grim ending. As a movie goer, we all want happy endings but realize in real life, and this was real life, that isn't always the case. On the contrary, this was and seems to be typical of celebrity. I'm wondering if there's yet more story to be told about these people. It seemed to me there could be more content about their personal lives that could be revealed without the movie being overworked or overdone. What happened to the characters later on? Who was with whom, who lived, who died, how did they cope? Feeling this way makes me want more and that was what I was experiencing after viewing it. I wanted more. The best compliment I can give any film, concert, play, etc., is to leave wanting more and I rate this movie a 10.