Street Survivors (2020) Movie Drinking Game
Do a Shot: for every moment of partying.
Do a Shot: every time we cut to the real Artimus Pyle.
Take a Drink: for every flashback.
Do a Shot: for every bad wig.
By: Movie Snurb (Five Beers) –
The title really says it all. The film is told through the experience of Skynyrd’s drummer Artimus Pyle. We see Artimus audition for Skynyrd and then it jumps a few years to 1977 a few days before the crash. Then on October 20th, 1977, on a flight to Baton Rouge the plane ran out of gas and crashed in a dense wooded area. Of the 26 on board, 20 survived. Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Gaines, Steve Gaines, Dean Kilpatrick, and the two pilots died in the crash.
A Toast
It’s a dramatic and true story that makes for compelling film. A massive rock band at the height of their powers is cut short. An event like this is what can take a band from great to legendary and the effect Skynyrd had on Southern Rock and Rock music in general has been everlasting. Because of this reach, taking this story and making it into a film is a no-brainer. The casting and acting of the leads were good. Taylor Clift, the actor they found for Ronnie Van Zant, was perfect casting and his acting really brought Ronnie back to life.
Pretty Solid Casting for Ronnie.
Beer Two
The film didn’t have a large budget and it’s clear. The film looks cheap, especially in some of the costuming. Some of the wigs are real bad wigs, like, did Tyler Perry get his hands on this film? Also, the crash and effects in those scenes looked only a little better than the show “Air Disasters.” It’s unfortunate, because with a large budget this could be a really great film. You know you’re in trouble when the filmmakers cannot secure the rights to the music about the band they’re making a movie of.
Beer Three
The film is only 92 minutes and it feels really short. The story doesn’t concern itself with fleshing out the band members except Ronnie and Artimus, so when we reach the crash and the aftermath, we don’t feel the emotional weight of the deaths. Honestly, it’s hard to tell who’s who because we don’t get to know any of the other band mates.The film is too concerned with showing the drugs, alcohol, & sex parts back stage after a concert rather than getting to know the band members. Again, it’s too bad, because with a longer runtime and better script this could be good.
Beer Four
There were a few continuity errors that really distracted from the story. The big one that comes to mind is after the crash Artimus has moved from an aisle seat to a window seat. I mean come on, how does that go unnoticed? Or is everyone that lazy?
Beer Five
Lastly, the thing that bothered me all film is the sound design. Most of the time when there was a score playing you couldn’t understand the actors. Just a little bit of mixing could go a long way.
Verdict
I love Lynyrd Skynyrd and was excited to see a film about them. The film begins with the words: This is the story of the greatest rock band ever. But it’s not it’s about the crash. This would’ve been ok had we gotten to know the band members and felt the emotional weight of their deaths. I’d love to see a large studio film of this story, a character study about the band members and then the crash and aftermath. This could be a really good movie.
