MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP
-------------------------
'Dear Rodney, Always be good to Rock and Roll and it will always be good to
you.' Phil Spector
Monkee Davy Jones's film double., Sonny and Cher's pseudo-son. Buddy of
David Bowie. Former disco owner and KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer is
responsible for countless careers while his own has devolved into a
midnight to 3 a.m. slot on Sunday. Yet those in the know still recognize
Rodney as "Mayor of the Sunset Strip."
Writer/director George Hickenlooper's ("Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's
Apocalypse," "The Man from Elysian Fields") highly entertaining documentary
succeeds on three levels. It is the portrait of a man who mingles with
stars but lives in a hovel, a chronicle of four decades of cutting edge
music and a revelatory look at our celebrity-obsessed culture.
Bingenheimer was born of a father who moved to L.A. to become a movie star,
but contented himself taking home movies of celebrity golf tournaments, and
a mother who was an autograph hound. Rodney's mom, now deceased, kept a
shrine to her son's brushes with fame. An early photo reveals the young
boy against a bedroom wall plastered with TV Guide covers. When Rodney was
just sixteen, his mother left him on the doorstep of his idol, Connie
Stevens, and drove away, not reappearing for several years. Forced to make
his own way, (Connie wasn't home), Rodney gravitated towards the Sunset
Strip and soon the soft-spoken, 5'3" Rodney was a mover and shaker in the
music biz.
Today Rodney still hangs with the stars, who all express genuine affection
for the man. David Bowie, who was introduced to LA by Rodney, still makes
time for his old friend and Courtney Love relates how Rodney was part of
her fame agenda. Deborah Harry digs out her old Bingenheimer tee shirt for
her interview and rock groupie extraordinaire Pamela des Barres relates
that Rodney was the first man in Hollywood she made out with! (Her
husband, rocker Michael des Barres, says that in the day Rodney had the
allure of a drug dealer, but his drugs were young, nubile women and Robert
Plant claims Rodney got more chicks than he did.) Mick Jagger calls him a
groupie. In one brilliant montage, classic rocks scenes with the likes of
the Beatles, Beach Boys, the Doors, John and Yoko, Hendrix and Elvis, all
having arrows pointing to the young Rodney, in the thick of it all.
So why, after knowing and helping the creme de la creme of rock for
decades, isn't Rodney rich and famous himself? Maybe he's just been too
nice of a guy and too much of a fan. Tellingly, Rodney mentions the Payola
scandal and says he shouldn't have profited just for playing songs on the
radio. (Just as an example, Rodney put Oasis on the airwaves via a
cassette tape before they were signed by a label.) Hickenlooper asks his
subject if he wishes his life had turned out differently and Rodney admits
that things could have been a little different. 'I have very few close
friends' he admits before Hickenlooper showcases a middle-aged musical
wannabe who's kept off the streets by Rodney's generosity. The only time
we witness Rodney getting angry is when his protege and co-broadcaster
Chris Carter gets his own, better-slotted radio show.
Hickenlooper does a beautiful balancing act of portraying Rodney both in
the midst of fame and existing on its edges by those he associates with. A
very hyper Lance Loud is a friend and interviewee. A hilarious moment
finds Rodney's dad and stepmom perplexed by a signed photo of Kato Kaelin
in their collection. 'He just sent it to us' says dad. A fondly amused
celeb recounts how the VIP section in Rodney's English Disco club was just
a velvet rope around a table 'two feet away from everybody else' because
'that's just how Rodney was.'
"Mayor of the Sunset Strip" is an engrossing piece of work that begins on a
high note of humor and the exhilaration of the times and winds down with a
melancholy, quiet air. Hickenlooper's portrait of Bingenheimer takes a
rock footnote and finally gives him center stage.
A-
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