The Clash 'Rude Boy', Reviewed (sorta)
I recently rewatched Rude Boy with my mom, and let me tell you, this was the first time I actually appreciated the film.
The first time I saw it, I’m pretty sure I just fell asleep, was vaguely weirded out, and didn’t really care all that much. Also, I didn’t know any of the songs well enough to appreciate them. The only things I could recall were that the guy worked in a creepy shoppe and that he followed The Clash about. Pretty much accurate, yeah?
Regardless, watching it now, I really quite enjoyed it. Not for the actual film aspect, though. It’s like it was shot without a microphone and everything was filmed in InstaGram. Beautiful, just difficult to hear and awkward to follow.
Luckily, the sheer godliness of the majestic and wonderful Joe Strummer was the icing on the cake. Something about him just made it all tie together. He spoke so eloquently and he had this jaunty attitude about him that made you want to be his best friend. As far as I’m concerned, he’s my long lost father. I loved watching the footage of the shows, too. It was so coolto watch. First of all, each of the guys has a specific niche whilst their performing. Joe crouches, Paul does a funny little dance, Mick has a funny face, Topper looked vaguely like a corpse drumming. It was hilarious but captivating.
Seriously though, whose idea was it to try and incorporate a story line? I got the whole race rioting thing, but the whole deal with the bus stop and the arresting just got mixed up and confusing. It was a waste. If you put that aside and just focused on the footage of the band and Ray, you could easily fall in love with all of them. They were just all so sincere and kind; it was admirable and made it all really realistic. They didn’t feel like they were untouchable rock stars- they felt like real people. They seemed accessible and kind.
One of the coolest things it showed was how the shows got bigger and bigger. I loved the whole “They’re not fighting, they’re dancing!” scene. It was a revolution; it hadn’t been seen before and the Clash brought it to the table. Also, watching the struggle of a young Ray Gange trying to get in with his favourite band was cute and showed how he wanted to be just in the same room as the guys.
All in all, it was awesome. By far one of the most rad rockumentaries of all time. I just want to be all of their best friends now.
