There are two glorious early scenes where the director seems to have made up her mind: the first when Javed has a Springsteen epiphany during a rainstorm, and the second where he leads a group of underemployed Britons (including a lively cameo from Rob Brydon) in an impromptu singalong in downtown Luton.
The film features Bruce Springsteen's 1973 album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. This highly stylized approach works intermittently, yet Chadha cannot decide how passionately she should lean toward musical fantasy versus kitchen-sink drama. Based on the memoir Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion, Rock 'n' Roll by British-Pakistani writer Sarfraz Manzoor, the film follows the difficult teenage years of a young Springsteen-obsessive named Javed (Viveik Kalra) as he struggles to escape the suffocating pressure of his authoritarian father (Kulvinder Ghir) and the dreary career prospects of Margaret Thatcher’s Britain in 1987 Luton.Īs Javed seeks solace from his real world – which offers few creative pleasures and lots of pervasive, ugly racism – he falls deeper into a fantastical Springsteen rabbit hole, with the artist’s songs constantly blaring on the soundtrack and his lyrics even occasionally splashing across the screen, like a liner note come to cinematic life.
#Elton john blinded by the light movie#
Part Billy Elliot and part Chadha’s own underdog hit Bend It Like Beckham, Blinded by the Light is a feel-good coming-of-age movie that often feels way too good about itself. But what happens when your movie not only floats on Springsteen, but whose entire conception explicitly depends on the work of The Boss? Director Gurinder Chadha’s Blinded by the Light offers an answer, though it’s not an easy one. Remove the man’s music from certain films – Jerry Maguire, say, or Philadelphia – and those productions seem instantly lesser than, or indelibly incomplete. The movies have been kind to Bruce Springsteen. (Might we suggest some early R.E.M.The film follows Javed as he struggles to escape both an authoritarian father and the dreary career prospects in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. Five percent of the people who responded to the poll said they “never” get lyrics wrong themselves. They said the most common places they hear frustratingly mangled wording is concerts (34%), followed by karaoke bars (23%), public transportation (20%) and the office (18%).Īlso … hubris alert. Seventy percent of respondents said they get annoyed hearing other people sing lyrics wrong. We’re not happy about these garbled lyrics, either.
Jimi Hendrix took the second spot (19%) with his line “Excuse me while I kiss the sky,” from “Purple Haze” being confused for the less abstract, albeit more open-minded, “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.”Īnd in third place, 14% of respondents said they’ve heard “Rock the Casbah,” by The Clash, mangled into “Rock the Cat Box.” Listen: Spotify’s top misquoted song lyrics Fifty-two percent of respondents reported hearing “Wrapped up like a douche/when you’re rollin’ in the night” instead of the correct lyric: “Revved up like a deuce/another runner in the night.” The winner? By a long shot, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band confused the most folks with “Blinded By the Light,” the 1976 hit written and first recorded by Bruce Springsteen. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band performs in 2012 in Cologne, Germany.