Review: Hired Gun (2016)

[David N. Butterworth]

HIRED GUN (2016)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2016 David N. Butterworth

***1/2 (out of ****)

First there was "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," a 2002 documentary
about a band of soulful Detroit-based musicians--the Funk Brothers--that
backed dozens of Motown artists. Then came 2008's "The Wrecking Crew," a
film which highlighted a core group of L.A. studio musicians that played on
some of the biggest hits of the '60s and '70s. In 2013, "20 Feet from
Stardom" gave backing singers their due... and won an Oscar for Best
Documentary Feature in the process. Now it's the turn of "Hired Gun," Fran
Strine's tantalizing tribute to an A-list assembly of session and touring
musicians hired by the likes of KISS, Pink, and Billy Joel (and how many
times have you wanted to use *those* names in a single sentence!?).
The film dispenses with its definition early: "A hired gun is an
assassin, the best available musician that gets hired to go on tour to
deliver that music for that artist. Nobody'll know who he is, but he gets
the gig because he's the elite player." As such, "Hired Gun" shares a
common agenda with the aforementioned films: to showcase the talents of a
set of individuals who are "masters of their craft" yet who "live in a
world that lies just beyond the spotlight" and "whose stories have gone
untold... until now."
The decentralized performers of "Hired Gun"--Liberty DeVitto, Jason
Hook, Russell Javors, Steve Lukather, and Rudy Sarzo to name a few--might
not be household names before (or even after) you've seen the film, but for
90 minutes they each get their 15 minutes of fame, more or less. Hook, who
serves as one of the film's producers, has one of the most glamorous back
stories--from Hilary Duff to Five Finger Death Punch literally overnight!
Metallica's Jason Newsted also tells of how he scrounged change from his
friends in order to attend an audition for the band. Fifteen years later
he was still playing with them. But mostly these guys don't get the luxury
of a dependable paycheck.
Speaking of guys, "Hired Gun"'s cast list is large but occupies an
extremely male-centric world. A couple of female performers get a brief
look-in--guitarist Nita Strauss and bassist Eva Gardner--but the latter
doesn't even get to talk on camera. Headliners Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie
each weigh in on what it takes to fulfill this demanding and often
underappreciated role (especially by fans, when the performer in question
is replacing a beloved band member, sometimes as the result of
misadventure). According to Zombie, "Finding the right person for your
band is almost impossible, because you're looking for... three things.
You've gotta find somebody who... is an excellent musician. Which... that's
the easiest thing; there's... a million excellent musicians. Then you've got
to find someone who's really cool, who can stand on stage in front of, you
know, 15-, 100,000 people and be amazing. That whittles it down to a
smaller group. And then you gotta find someone you can stand to be around
24/7 'cause, you know, you live with them, day in and day out. Then it
shrinks down to about... here's the three people in the music industry I can
actually stand to be around so, no, that is... that is the trick."
Alice Cooper also rhapsodizes about how a bunch of these musicians
should form their *own* band, and director Strine gives us a couple of
spontaneous jam sessions to illustrate that point, including Derek St.
Holmes (the voice of Ted Nugent) vocalizing on "Just What the Doctor
Ordered."
Industry insider Strine keeps his movie fluid and involving by forever
changing up his presentation and techniques. It's very slick and very
professional, much like its oddly ego-less subjects, most of whom seem
genuinely in awe of the opportunities afforded them. It's clear they love
what they do. As musicians, they just want to play.
What's next at the multiplex I wonder? "Heavy Lifting: On the Road
with Blur, Bon Jovi, and The Boss"? You have to admit it's probably time
the lowly roadie got his day in the spotlight.

--
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
butterwo...@gmail.com