good back-story, and good acting

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Yes, Awful. Dated by the time I see this. Our singer in a self indulgent rant about things gone by. Thankfuly warned ahead of time by our opening credits that there will be 15 songs. Better to have been sung in his personal shower. Off key voice that cracks and scratches it's way through some of the most awfully written lyrics. The music in a basic form, any high schooler could follow. Not impressed to say the least, a complete waste of my time. Smallish, unseen audience, must be close family and friends because someone is clapping after the songs. The onlookers in the background are amusing, but then the curtain closes and we see Hitchcock in a dark, candlelight setting rambling on about who knows what, and then you start to miss the actual entertainment from the street side of things. Hair whipping? Really? His hair is short and has enough hairspray to hold back a gale force wind, yet he's trying to flip something from his face? His in between song ramblings I could clearly do without. Is this some kind of British humor? I just didn't get it. His tidbits of personal reflection I could do without. Could have shaved off painful minutes if it was left on the cutting room floor. I can clearly see why I've never heard of this guy and his act. And why it grossed $3,000 at a box office? Must have been that set of close family and friends watching the movie to see if they were in it?Sorry, this one's a loser.

English singer songwriter Robyn Hitchcock (no relation to Sir Alfred) became a cult performer in the 1980s through the American college radio circuit. He made during that time some good, though perhaps overrated, records. Their lyrics were odd and eccentric, the music somewhat reminiscent of the rock of the late 60s (Pink Floyd legendary founder Syd Barrett is a name that came up in many profiles about him). In 1998, he decided to make a concert film, directed by none other than Jonathan Demme, who has directed the Talking Heads' widely acclaimed Stop Making Sense. Unfortunately, this movie is really disappointing, a concert film as dull as it can possibly be. We have a single camera fixing at Robyn blurting out his songs with an acoustic guitar and without much interest in a stage set in a deserted shop (thus the title, I guess). There is no audience inside, but wee see the people on the street outside passing by, occasionally stopping and looking what is going on inside. The songs are punctuated by some unfunny and rambling comments by Robyn. Unless you are a committed Robyn fan, you can safely skip this.

I finally saw the movie today. It was on the Sundance Channel.I love Robyn's music and have had the good fortune to seem him twice in concert. This replicated those experiences.You can't truly appreciate Robyn by just listening to a CD. He has such a unique outlook on everything and tells the most interesting stories.That's what makes the movie valuable as a chronicle of Robyn. It captures his music and some of his stories.Fantastic!

How wonderful to see a film that aims an unforgiving eye on one of our greatest modern free-style poets & he comes through it all without a blemish! This artists is one of the few that didn't sell out, burn out or become an aging impersonator of himself, like so many of his peers! He is the modern day Dali of the spoken word & you can gather that from any project he's released to date. (Though I highly recommend for starters "Insanely Jealous" From The Soft Boy's "Underwater Moonlight" LP)Thank you for doing this film!Now how about a book of lyrics & drawings....?