Movie Review: "Crazy"

Steve Vai's record label, Favored Nations, has now delved into the movie business. Last weekend (October 17th), their first major production, titled Crazy, released exclusively in Nashville and Memphis at select theaters. Lucky for me, considering one of those select theaters is minutes from my house! The film has actually been showing in various independent film festivals and has won several awards.

Produced by Vai himself, Crazy chronicles the life of Hank Garland (played by Waylon Payne from Walk the Line and CSI), a highly-revered Nashville session guitar player. Throughout his career, Garland worked with countless names in the music industry, including such greats as Elvis, Dave Brubeck, Wes Montgomery, Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, Charlie Parker, and many, many more. In fact, Vai makes a cameo as Hank Williams, and Vai's guitar hero sidekick Tony MacAlpine has the brief role of Wes Montgomery. The movie also highlights some of Garland's darker moments, including troubles with his salacious wife (played by Ali Garter from Heroes) and contractual issues with record labels. These problems ultimately result in Garland's mental breakdown, hence the title of the movie.

The movie is prone to issues most common with these types of low-budget films though. Some of the acting by the minor characters remains shoddy throughout. However, considering the funds that Vai and crew had to work with, Crazy certainly does not disappoint. If you're a guitar fan in the Memphis or Nashville area, go see it now! For Vai fans, the following scene is worth the cost of admission alone:


Here's a neat trailer for the movie:

TRAILER (Qucktime Large)

Visit the website:

Crazy Official Website