La Bamba (1987)

Interesting subject, but execution is often quite flat or hammy.The story of Ritchie Valens, the teenager who rose to fame in the late-1950s with hits like "Donna", "Come On, Let's Go" and "La Bamba". Interesting subject, as Valens was one of the pioneers of rock 'n roll. His story is also a tragic one, and well-known as such, due to the plane crash that took the lives of him, Buddy Holly (surely one of rock 'n roll's greatest losses) and The Big Bopper. The day the music died... (to quote Don McLean).The musical side largely lives up to expectations - good tracks, well-performed and with some great nostalgic moments.However, the personal side is quite uneven. Particularly bad is the brother angle. This seems overblown and over-dramatic, and is certainly not helped by an over-the-top, hammy performance from Esai Morales.Too many scenes which are dull or cringingly hammy.Overall: worth watching from a music history perspective, but you'll have to get through some dull/hammy scenes and acting to get to the end.

An elaborate, yet unmemorable piece of propaganda. The problem has its roots in trying to touch all interesting issue of that era. From the first half hour there is the dark skinned no good guy who moves drugs. There is a cute scene ready for the white fundamentalist in which two bad guys with dark skin are doing drugs. Actually hemp. In a small trailer. It suits them, after all they don't have a steady job, right? And in that small space the girlfriends (the bad guy doesn't obey the holy matrimony, right?) are not affected. To make things more obvious, one becomes angry and aggressive like in Reefer Madness. And his girlfriend gives him a nice discourse fit for a white middle class protestant girl. Cliché poverty, cliché romantic scene, and the children popping on and off to suit the artistic desires of the director and writer. And it keeps going like that for almost two hours.Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

Never get tired of this movie. As the song says, the day the music died in lots of ways. Ritchie, Buddy and the Big Bopper. The first two? What might have been...As many other folks have said, I'm a true fan of Rock-n-Roll, and I simply don't get tired of watching this movie. LD Phillips is excellent, as are Esai Morales, PLUS Joe Pantoliona, who's just great! Brian Setzer was a perfect choice to play Eddie Cochran, as was Marshall Crenshaw for dear Buddy Holly. And of course we can't disregard the super soundtrack by Los Lobos.If you like this movie, you really need to get a hold of "The Real Buddy Holly Story", maybe from Netflix. Paul McCartney introduces sections, and it really takes you to the Lubbock area. As a native Texan, I cannot imagine a worse place to grow up! But it gave us Buddy, as well as Joe Ely. Plus my state have us Willy and Waylon. Whole different kind musicians, but really good. But I digress - back to La Bamba.This is simply a wonderful movie, capturing the early days of rock(minus Chuck Berry) and much more simple times. Was anybody worried about air pollution?? Watch the film and enjoy! I got sucked into it last night on AMC, could not stop watching it, even though I'd seen many times before, and stayed up much later than intended.So, come on, let's do it again and again and again.

Ritchie Valens died at seventeen alongside Buddy Holly in a plane crash, but not before leaving several records including the one which gives this film its title, 'La Bamba'.A straight biopic covering 1957-1959, the last two years of Valens' life, this showcases his music, his family, and his personality. In the lead Lou Diamond Phillips does perhaps his best work, although the rest of the cast are in strong support.I just didn't get a feeling that this film had much of a heart - yes, there is the jealous brother, and the girlfriend whose parents don't approve, but it is all a bit hollow. So the film is only a bit of a diversion, nothing special.