You can go to one of those sweaty, immersive outdoor music fests and get splattered with the mud and euphoria that always engulfs fans. Or you can cheap out and see this predictable rom-com—shot at the 2010 edition of Scotland’s then-in-progress T in the Park—and boggle at finding strangers in the audience more appealing than our main characters. They are Adam (Luke Treadaway), an American member of the fictional electropop duo the Make, and Morello (Natalia Tena), frontwoman for the scrappy Dirty Pinks. Both see the show as crucial; bumping into each other, they do little to hide mutual derision, squabbling over a guitar and a coat.
Enter that lamest of situational headaches: a pair of handcuffs. A showboaty preacher links the two together in a gesture of healing and flees via golf cart. How to play the gig? How to flirt with listless groupies? How to make desperate use of the Porta-Potty? How not to keep us from dozing off? As surely as the real-life atmosphere dwarfs the thin material (including some uninspired original songs performed by the actors), Adam and Morello are destined to lock lips. Getting there isn’t especially sexy, though director David Mackenzie can be said to be freshening up (slightly) after the ponderous Perfect Sense. At least he got some sun.
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