Absolute Beginners (1986)

Directed by Julien Temple. Starring Eddie O’Connell, Patsy Kensit, James Fox, Anita Morris, Graham Fletcher-Cook, David Bowie, Edward Tudor-Pole, Tony Hippolyte, Steven Berkoff, Bruce Payne, Eve Ferret, Ray Davies, Mandy Rice-Davies, Sade, Chris Pitt. [PG-13]

Slick but muddled British musical set in London’s West End of the 1950s with young lovers—photographer O’Connell and fashion designer/model Kensit—struggling to deal with the lure and price of fame. Flashy camerawork and elaborate pre-fab sets aid director Temple in crafting something memorable to look at, but the story never sorts itself out, chasing youth revolution, sociopolitical upheaval, and more without anything substantive beneath the surface. After a while, the erratic sensory assault just becomes exhausting and it’s easy to wonder just what the heck happened to those razzle-dazzle kids we were supposed to be rooting for? (Oh, wait, they’re narcissists.) In her first substantial film role, singer/actress Kensit is a breathy dud, and even if she did have chemistry with O’Connell, his character is played as a smug, shallow Soho symbol. At least some of the songs are decent (with contributions from, among others, Davies, Sade, and Bowie); it’s almost worth it just to see the latter superstar caper about on a giant typewriter. Temple also directed the music video for Bowie’s title tune, a chart success in the UK. Features Sade’s lone feature film appearance, credited here with her actual last name: Sade Adu.

43/100