Hendrix (2000) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)
The rare Billy Zane movie without a sinking ship. In fact Zane is almost completely unrecognizable in this film, but don't get your hopes up, he doesn't play Jimi. Now that would be entertaining! Zane plays a British rock promoter who's taken a few too many ferries across the Mersey, complete with a Liverpool accent, bottle-thick glasses, and a Dave Clark Five haircut.
Wood Harris actually plays the Rock Guitar God, but the movie is really just a narrative biopic. Hendrix plays a number, a couple minutes of dialogue introduce a new phase in his life, then he plays another long number reflecting the changes in that new phase, including his new look.

NUDITY REPORT
plentiful, but anonymous (groupies)
The only attempt to add any depth to the docudrama approach stemmed from an occasional discussion about Jimi being a black performer playing white music with only the vaguest hint of jazz/blues influence, so that Jimi got very little respect from people who love black music, despite the fact that militants were always trying to seduce Jimi to their cause. On the other hand, he never really fit in with the white boys

That's it for the character study.

DVD info from Amazon.

  • no widescreen, no features
If you like Jimi, there's a lot of his music. If you're interested in Jimi, it's like a multi-media bio from the encyclopedia, presented in an understandable if uninspired manner.

If you don't like Jimi, there's nothing else here to attract your attention. No profundity, no special plot, no directorial style or atmosphere.

The Critics Vote

  • no major reviews on line

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 6.3,
  • With their dollars ... no theatrical release, made for Showtime
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C. Just watchable if you're into the subject, but a poor movie if you aren't.

Return to the Movie House home page