Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
American Hot Wax (1977)
Director: Floyd Mutrux
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
The early history of rock'n'roll seen through the eyes of its mentor, the New York disc jockey Alan Freed (played by McIntire), who was eventually run out of town as a payola scapegoat. With this subject, plus Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis (among others) in the cast, it seems hard to imagine any film going wrong. But American Hot Wax badly lacks a hard narrative core, and it makes no attempt to discipline its performers into an even approximate re-creation of their '50s acts. The result is an only occasionally moving ragbag, with a really disappointing final concert which conveys little of the raw energy of the period.Author: DP
Cast & crew
Director: Floyd Mutrux
Producer: Art Linson
Cast: Tim McIntire, Fran Drescher, Jay Leno, Laraine Newman, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis full cast
Duration: 91 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now