Year:  1979
Rating: 5.0

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I guess I can only take so much unrelenting teenage angst and anger and at slightly over two hours I reached the point of not really caring any longer. Everyone in the film is basically a little sullen shit acting out there anti-social frustration with the world and their insignificance in it. Welcome to life. It takes place in a mid 1960's working class environment with a musical and fashion divide between the Mods (who are into recent rock music) and the Rockers (who are sticking with Rock and Roll and leather jackets).


They get into little confrontations until on a trip to Brighton there is an all out riot between them. They all drive motorcycles and are pissed on drink or blues (pills) and too dumb to realize they have more in common than not. The main character Jimmy is a resentful scowling prick who because of his unruly behavior gets everything kicked out from underneath him and never finds fault with himself. As the film progresses he just gets angrier and angrier. The Mods that he hangs out with are no better and there isn't a person in the film that you would not mind falling down a well. I expect we are supposed to be sympathetic towards their plight in life, the emptiness of their futures, the unfairness of society but I just felt bored with them.


Quadrophenia the album (1973) is my second favorite Who album after Who's Next and I like it more than Tommy. The rest of their albums for me are basically mediocre with a few good songs here and there on them. But Quadrophenia the album is loud and ballsy. And the main reason I watched the film. Imagine my surprise when 90 minutes into it none of the songs had played beyond a few snatches. I was like what the hell. Why are you calling it Quadrophenia produced by The Who and the soundtrack was music from other 1960's groups. And then in the final 30 minutes they cram in a bunch of the songs from the album. Like an afterthought. Maybe I was expecting a musical more like Tommy but much better. Nothing like that at all.


In this one scene in a nightclub I spot this blonde haired fellow in the crowd and I think - was that Sting? Turns out it was. Not a very big role - he is in the riot and the Bellboy of the song. This was a year after The Police's debut album with Roxanne and Can't Stand Losing You on it. Of course, at 28 he was a bit old to play a teenager. But the film could have used more of his star power. Back when it was released it generally got positive reviews but maybe time has not been kind to it. Or maybe it is just me. Yes, me I think as every other viewer review has been positive - it just didn't click for me. Maybe it has just been too long since I was a sullen little shit.