Ray Pride

What to say about a goofy, raggedy-ass movie that veers from visionary thrills to dumb-ass comedy, shamelessly mixing digital fever-dream inspiration with the story of a motley clutch of pals palling about in Sydney's Newtown, dreaming of becoming the noisiest Australian garage band of them all... but don't have the talent to even drink, take drugs, kiss, break up, cheat, or wear tight leather pants properly? Seeing it the first time at Sundance, a couple of friends were flabbergasted at the mix of tones, particularly broad comedy, staying in their seats only because of the directorial acumen of Alex Proyas ("The Crow," "Dark City"). A lot of journalists have been layering praise on distributor Fox Searchlight lately, and their ad campaign for the movie shows why: "What if you finally got your big break and you just plain sucked?" The movie in a nutshell. Except for a subplot involving a lipsticked cantaloupe as a baby substitute, "Garage Days" is splendidly weird fun, and its helium highs of inspiration make up for many, many bad jokes. The cast, male and female, is also almost uniformly pretty, and Proyas' insistence on shooting in and recreating an urban bohemia he knows, is sweet.

"Garage Days" opens Friday. (2003-07-16)

Also by Ray Pride

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