4 stars out of 5
If you’re really feeling Petty, take a deep dive into Peter Bogdanovich’s 4-hour, 19-min documentary from 2007, Runnin’ Down a Dream. But for a looser experience capturing Tom and band at the height of their powers, Cameron Crowe’s restored film Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party is the one for you. Produced to promote the album Long After Dark, the doc aired only once on MTV in 1983. Crowe has shined it up for a quick theatrical release and we’ll see what happens next.
Though it reached the top 10, Long After Dark was considered a bit of a letdown (go ahead and give it to me) after the monster platinum albums Damn the Torpedoes and Hard Promises. But you wouldn’t know it from watching this movie — the Heartbreakers seem only concerned with being a great rock and roll band, not topping the charts. The word “brothers” comes up more than once; these are dear friends dedicated to their pursuit, and loving it.
The then 25-year-old rock journalist Cameron Crowe was granted exclusive access, and it’s impossible to watch this without thinking of it as a continuation for Crowe’s stand-in character from Almost Famous. We’re on the bus, in the studio, onstage, backstage (I’m pretty sure the Spinal Tap guys saw this footage), in a limo (which Petty rented as a goof just so he could be filmed inside a limo), etc. Crowe’s innocence shines through — he wouldn’t write and direct Say Anything for another six years — but also his extreme love for the music and thrill to be hanging out with Tom and the guys.
The most memorable images from the Long After Dark album cycle are from the Mad Max-like “You Got Lucky” video, and the doc spends a decent amount of time in the desert with the band. Interestingly, this would be a turning point for Petty, focusing more energy on visuals as MTV reached greater and greater importance (such as with his classic “Don’t Come Around Here No More” video from the next album), while still being devoted to classic rock and roll. (We see the band do a completely sincere cover of “Wild Thing” in the studio.)
What a treat to open this time capsule, with the band still young and hungry but definitely not kids anymore — Tom was on the other side of his legal troubles with the record company over the pricing of Hard Promises. And it’s a pleasure to see Cameron Crowe at the start of his filmmaking career, having some real fun with the rock-doc format. Plus, in the more-things-change department, this time the documentary is promoting a remastered, bonus-tracks edition of Long After Dark. Maybe it will go platinum this time!
being underrated is overrated
Jack Silbert, curator