Delayed Reaction: CBGB

The Pitch: How did that place because a club we've heard of?

CBGB is the epitome of an "if these walls could talk" location. It's the original home of punk and where so, so many artists from that era got their start. A movie covering all that history is a difficult thing to pull off. This film is the equivalent of reading the opening paragraph in the CBGB Wikipedia article, then skimming through the rest of it. I'm fine with that. A lot of actors get to show up and do impressions of 80s musicians. Malin Akerman makes a good Debbie Harry. It's fun to see Rupert Grint as one of The Dead Boys and Alan Rickman as the Hilly Kristal, always looking like he's battling a headache from a hangover. It's like an alternate Harry Potter timeline where Snape is fired for being a drunk and Ron drops out of school after a spell fucks up his brain. It's an easy watch. The comic book style keeps it lively and makes it easy to keep track of everyone. I just don't know what the point of making this was. There isn't really a story, but it's also not relaxed enough to be some kind of mood piece.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend