'Roadies' Series Premiere Review

Image from Variety

By Darian Scalamoni

            Cameron Crowe is a director who has such a distinct style that when you hear his name, you instantly jump back into one of his films. He’s had classic movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Jerry Maguire but for most people, it has to be Almost Famous. One of the best films of the 2000s (in my opinion) it follows a high school boy who is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone as he follows a new band along their tour. It’s the best Crowe has ever been, not only for his understanding of story-telling but also, his love of music. It’s so evident that the man knows so much about the art of music and everything that goes into that business; that’s why when I heard about him making Roadies, I was very excited. I’m sorry to tell you that like most of Crowe’s recent movies, I came out disappointed.

            Crowe co-wrote, directed and created this show that follows the people behind the scenes that are able to make concerts possible. The traveling crew that works behind the scenes, sets up the stage, the lights and everything else that you love about live music; it wouldn’t be possible without these men and women. The show stars Bill Hanson (Luke Wilson), an aging tour manager who recently is having troubles trying to unite the crew to put their best foot forward to creating the best environment for the talent and crew he heads. He’s also starting to feel the pressure and stress of work so he tries to solve that problem and even heartache with sex with young women, which most of the time, doesn’t solve anything and adds more to his plate. His right hand woman, the production manager, Shelli Anderson (Carla Gugino) is always there to lend a helping hand even though she’s got problems of her own. Between trying to make her marriage work and provide bad “compliments” towards the rest of the crew, Shelli understands that she has been doing her job too long and it may soon be time to move on. Along with that, Bill and Shelli have to take orders from the financial advisor, Reg Whitehead (Rafe Spall) who wants to cut the budget and start becoming more modern for younger audiences. But the character who steals the show in the premiere has to be Kelly Ann (Imogen Poots) the young woman who has a passion for the arts and eats off of other people’s plates who is leaving the crew to head to film school.

            When the first trailer for this show was released, people immediately tried to compare it the other premium network, music based show Vinyl, which was recently cancelled after one season, but that would be ignorant. The shows are polar opposites in terms of tone and the actual plot. While Vinyl mainly follows a record executive trying to make things work in a business sense, this show is about the passionate people that work ON the shows directly and want to do all they can to make it the best show possible night in and night out. There are things to look forward too with this show as the “Crowe”isms are definitely in there but they have a long way to go.

            In terms of performances, I’ve talked a little bit about Poots’s role as Kelly Ann but she really is a revelation. I’ve always been a fan of hers but this has to be my favorite. She has the passion of a young working woman who just loves what she does. Her passion is brought into the forefront when Rafe Spall’s future focused financial advisor tries to change the fun-filled and laid back environment of the roadies. Kelly Ann is able to get in his face and get him to modify his tune towards the end of the episode. Her twin brother, Wes (played surprisingly well by rapper Machine Gun Kelly) is also a very likable and relatable character. Luke Wilson’s Bill is the character that worries me the most. He’s not very likable and I don’t think he’s capable of heading this show. He seems to be a bland and not offer much but a mentor(ish?) like role to Kelly Ann. Gugino also didn’t do much for me in the premiere which makes me upset because I’m a big fan of her work. The relationship between Bill and Shelli isn’t all that believable but it’s only one episode so we’ll have to see if it builds over time.

            There is humor on this show and I care about some of the characters but as I said earlier, this program has a long way to go. With all the great shows already on Showtime, the network decided to go with a feel good show from Crowe and producer, JJ Abrams but it doesn’t hit on all fronts. For now, it’s definitely better than Crowe’s recent work, but it’s still disappointing that he can’t catch that same magic he had with Almost Famous.

6.2/10