Mock and Roll is a comedy about a group of driven yet clueless musicians trying different schemes to help raise funds for their band.
Done in a documentary style, Mock and Roll follows the band Liberty Means as they are trying to raise funds to attend South by Southwest music festival. Rick (Chris Wolf) is the party-loving guitar player. Bun (Andrew Yackel) is the drummer, who has a good heart but not the best mind. Tom (Pakob Jarenpone) is the bassist, who could write really good reviews on this site if he wanted. Robin (Adiit Molly Bhanja) is the slightly more level headed lead singer and her brother Sully (William Scarborough) is the one making this film.
The musicians in Liberty Means pick one band they like and then do parody style covers of their songs. Think of Weird Al if he just did all Beatles parodies. In the past, they did Cheap Trick covers like Bartender (originally Surrender) and were going to do a Foghat style band until the drummer of that band says that it’s a bad idea. Wait a minute, I think that was the actual drummer Roger Earl in a cameo. Liberty Means latest obsession is the music of the Black Owls.
Trying to raise money to attend a major music festival is difficult on its own. Trying to raise it on a band that just does covers seems downright impossible. But these players have drive and will go to great lengths to achieve their goal. They play at venues that are not used to their style of music, partake in testing out a new drug, and even unwillingly help commit a crime. All in the name of music.
While watching their schemes to get rich unfold, I was reminded of the sitcom Seinfeld. It was like I was watching an episode where those characters decided to form a band and than tried different things to help raise money. Both sets of characters are for the most part really good around each other, but when you mix in outsiders. Things can go from slightly bad to really worse. If I compared the members of Liberty Means to the characters of this 90’s sitcom. Rick is Kramer, Bun is George, Tom is Jerry and Robin is Elaine.
Director and co writer Ben Bacharach-White does a really good job with constructing characters who are sort of one note but also believable as real people. The cast members for the most part do a great job with their characters and they all have strong chemistry during the movie. Only few times I was taking out slightly because in a few scenes it was clear that they were trying to remember lines rather than have it be impulsive. There was nothing wrong with the dialogue but it could have benefited from a bit more improv in my opinion.
The scenes of the band playing instruments did not match the music I was hearing and look I understand fully. It is very difficult to mix music with actual playing. I just wish the producers could have afforded someone to show these actors basic chords so that they looked more like real musicians. This and a moment that played homage to a certain scene with Alfred Molina and Thomas Jane in Boogie Nights was the only downside in an otherwise very enjoyable comedy.
I would very much like to watch another movie with these characters. They don’t even have to be in a band, I would be just as happy watching them in a 30-minute sitcom as well as a feature length sequel.