Roadie (2011)

71% of critics liked it
(24 reviews)
32% of users liked it
(643 ratings)

Canned from a 20-year job as roadie for Blue Oyster Cult, Jimmy is broke and desperate. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to Forest Hills, Queens to visit his aging mother, where a wild night with some hard-partying high school friends shows him that some things never change. From director… More Canned from a 20-year job as roadie for Blue Oyster Cult, Jimmy is broke and desperate. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to Forest Hills, Queens to visit his aging mother, where a wild night with some hard-partying high school friends shows him that some things never change. From director Michael Cuesta, Roadie features powerful performances from Ron Eldard, Bobby Cannavale, Jill Hennessy and a refreshingly eclectic 70s hard rock soundtrack. -- (C) Magnolia

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Michael Cuesta
Written By: Gerald Cuesta, Michael Cuesta
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jan 6, 2012 Limited
On DVD: Mar 20, 2012
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
A lot of what takes place in "Roadie" feels overly familiar, and the film could have been a wallow in pathos except for the performances, especially that of Eldard.
Rafer Guzman, Newsday
The hugely sympathetic Eldard ("Super 8") gives this slim movie a real, beating heart.
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies
While the excellent cast does its level, honest best with the material, the material itself feels secondhand throughout.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
"Roadie" is short on narrative momentum, but it's a perfectly attuned character study of this rock relic and his middle-aged sorrows.
Manohla Dargis, New York Times
Mr. Eldard, who brings layers of complication to his character, makes Jimmy's vulnerability palpable, while Ms. Hennessy shows you her character's carelessness and opportunism.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Rare is the film that refuses to judge its flawed characters, or that grasps the ache of nostalgia while remaining clear-eyed in the face of reality.
Tony Macklin, tonymacklin.net
It's rare that an acting performance can carry a movie, but Ron Eldard gets a lot more out of his role than was on the page. Eldard invests his character with palpable vulnerability.
Todd Jorgenson, Cinemalogue.com
Provides a touching look at a man whose life is in a period of transition.
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com
An appealing mood of discomfort that's marvelously executed by the cast, hitting a few persuasive beats of disappointment and resignation that keeps the story grounded in an intriguing, lived-in reality.
Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
Roadie has the stench of freshman-year mandatory creative writing all over it, from its cribs of Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller to an ending that's embarrassingly, clangingly metaphorical.
Kurt Loder, Reason Online
Ron Eldard gives a sweet, moving performance as a 40-ish guy suddenly un-tethered in time.
Alison Willmore, AV Club
Aside from the entertaining specificity about its setting and its protagonist's profession, Roadie is as disappointingly rote as its standard setup suggests.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
Terrific contemporary drama about a veteran Queens, New York roadie who's been sacked after decades hauling equipment for Blue Oyster Cult is a gripping portrait of a flawed loser that allows Ron Eldard to shine
Mark Sells, The Reel Deal
Shows the unglamorous side of rock n' roll - the lies and denial, the sadness, and the regret of dreams long gone.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Roadie takes its characters' suffering seriously without ever properly justifying said misery as enlightening or unique.
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
A fresh alternative to typical indie-cinema wallowing.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeffrey M

An indie drama with a familiar story that adequately hits all of its emotional beats, but never goes past that. Ron Eldard is fine in his role, but isn't given a lot to work with, as the script is seemingly unfocused, and the film itself really doesn't get into much depth.… More
An indie drama with a familiar story that adequately hits all of its emotional beats, but never goes past that. Ron Eldard is fine in his role, but isn't given a lot to work with, as the script is seemingly unfocused, and the film itself really doesn't get into much depth. As derivative as it is, the film is always watchable, and does a few interesting things with Eldard's character that make it worth checking out.