Crazy (2008)

Apparently Hank Garland was a great guitar player. Perhaps a great musician and not much else. In keeping with that, the music in this film was great as well, but the story was strangely unmoving. If this pic is to be believed, he was bad at marriage. He married a woman but neither one loved the other in the truest sense of that word, that is wanting their happiness more than one's own. Each just wanted some of their needs met. On the positive side, Garland was essentially color-blind when it came to music but again, that may not have been a real virtue in his case as much as just a failure to see anything outside the music. Because of his arrogance and talent he was a problem for those around him. That failing eventually brought about much of the unhappiness in his life. The ending sort of suggested that in the end he was left with little but the songs he'd recorded and strangely that might have been enough. As with many movies, things are simplified to fit in the allotted time and I'm still unclear about many aspects of his life. For example, he's listed as being survived by two daughters and two grandsons named Garland. I'm not clear how that was possible. Given that facts like that have been left out of this film, I wonder what else was left out.BTW... there is another, very different movie C.R.A.Z.Y. that I enjoyed more and it has great music as well.

Hi, I saw CRAZY at the Charleston International Film Festival www.CharlestonIFF.com, South Carolina at the Terrace Theater www.TerraceTheater.com, and thought it was awesome on the big screen, the music, the acting was really impressive! I had no idea about the music industry back then and how musicians were treated in regards to contract terms, rights, etc. It really opened my eyes and is interesting to compare how it was then to now. It's really crazy, tragic and also inspiring when you realize this person put music above all else, fought against the system that was completely slanted in favor of the studios and how he maintained after a turn of bad luck. I've had the chance to speak with friends of Hank Garland at the screening, musicians and friends of his. One senior lady came in slowly and mentioned she and Hank were friends. I told her I'd love to hear afterwards if the movie was accurate of his life and maverick personality. Afterwards she said it was just like she remembered him. If you have a chance to see this film CRAZY in a theater somewhere, I'd definitely recommend checking it out....

I was able to view this film at the Charleston Film Festival where it won Best Picture. I did not know who Hank Garland was. I thought it was a big film for the festival which is why I wanted to view it, there was a lot of hype on the film before it came to Charleston, SC.I was pleasantly surprised at the casting of the film. Waylon Payne which at the time didn't know he was also in Walk the Line was an amazing feature to the film. Ali Larter of course is known to many movie goers but Waylon stole the performance. He was great on camera, very believable, an extraordinary actor. I look forward to seeing more of what he can do on film.I would recommend seeing this film when it releases. Rick Bieber is not a new filmmaker, he has a long Bio of being in charge of HBO Pictures to Producing such films that we already know such as Flatliners. This was a great effort, I applaud the entire Cast & Crew, job well done!

I recently saw Crazy at the Hoboken Film Festival and was blown away by every aspect of the movie. Not knowing anything about the life of Hank Garland I was captivated from the opening scene to the very end. The movie is extremely well written and well cast. The actors have their characters down pat and give very believable performances, especially Waylon Payne as Hank. Director Rick Bieber's technique of filling the screen with his characters' faces completely draws you in, and Ali Larter has never looked more beautiful. I can't wait to see it on a big theatrical screen. If you like music of any kind you'll find this film fascinating.