"Ordinary World" movie starring Billie Joe

[Hermione]

I love the videos from this, what a great little performance! New songs (sounds pretty good but can't really tell much from only hearing live), Scattered, an interesting band line up and Joan Jett, perfect. Glad for everyone who was there and thanks for the photos, videos and info.

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

 

 

 

Lady And A Gent

Selma Blair and Billie Joe Armstrong attend theGeezer world premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival on April 23, 2016 in New York City. 

Credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic

 

http://www.usmagazine.com/hot-pics/lady-and-a-gent-w203972

 

 

[gerardsangel4977]

Alright, so I realize I'm completely late to the party here (I had work at 6 am on Sunday morning, so wasn't able to get on here after the show, and spent a good portion of my Sunday afternoon sleeping it off  ) but just wanted to say that I had a great time at the premiere (though I kind of wish I had opted to go both days now, knowing there was a Q&A afterward)! I totally did not realize there was an open bar either. I would've taken advantage of that, if I had! 

My first impression of the film was that the music was awesome! I haven't actually paid a whole lot of attention to the Armstrong boys' music, but seeing them credited in the film makes me think I should reconsider. LOL the first five minutes made me realize just how much I've missed these guys performing, even though I know it wasn't actually Green Day. There were enough little Easter Egg type things for Green Day fans, as I mentioned in my previous post, that it made me feel super-nostalgic. I definitely felt like everything played out as if it were an alternate universe where Green Day hadn't exploded with Dookie. Billie Joe must've tapped into some of that as well because his performance was fairly on point. Ironically, I think he actually did better with some of the heavier scenes than with the more light-hearted stuff. He's not going to be winning any awards, for sure, but he's come along way from that God-awful Chris Isaak appearance in 2002. Yes, the plot was kind of predictable, and I wish they had given us some more details about his history with the blonde, but it also had it's share of memorable jokes and gags, plus all the fan-specific stuff and great tunes, that I would happily watch it again

The performance bit afterward was much shorter than I had hoped for, but what little there was was fantastic! Especially loved the Joan Jett cameo! And OMG SCATTERED

[jetsrule128]

Only thing I have heard about the q and a is that it was questions about the movie. Nothing about the new album. 

[Chin for a Day]

23 minutes ago, gerardsangel4977 said:

 I totally did not realize there was an open bar either. I would've taken advantage of that, if I had! 

 

No worries, I drank your share. 

[gerardsangel4977]

22 minutes ago, jetsrule128 said:

Only thing I have heard about the q and a is that it was questions about the movie. Nothing about the new album. 

Well, yeah, that's generally expected that people attending a screening of a film would ask the creators and actors from the film about the film. It wasn't a Green Day press junket. Still worth sharing, though. 

 

13 minutes ago, JJ1964 said:

No worries, I drank your share. 

HA good to know.

[Chin for a Day]

11 minutes ago, gerardsangel4977 said:

Well, yeah, that's generally expected that people attending a screening of a film would ask the creators and actors from the film about the film. It wasn't a Green Day press junket. Still worth sharing, though. 

 

HA good to know.

I was actually thinking a bit more about what you wrote in your other post and I think you nailed what was wrong with the film.  I'll put it in a spoiler

 It wasn't just the relationship with the blonde, it was the lack of a back story.  They only briefly touched on why he left music, something about a failed record deal.  They only briefly established how he met his wife, on a subway.  They never really established how important music was to him or what the potential was for him to really succeed.  Was he just a garage band singer or was he Billie Joe Armstrong?  We dont' really know.  He was just this lovable, goofy, guy that used to be in a band.  He briefly regrets leaving music but then realizes he chose the right life.  IT would have been so much more effective if they had established that  he had the potential to be huge and for various circumstances left the business.  

   

[Paola17]

Agree with the lack of a back story in several aspects of the film.
Also, this is probably nit-picking, but there were also a few smaller inconsistencies when it came to props and location.

Overall, the movie was alright. Could there have been more aspects refined? Yes. However, it was not bad.
And can we just be proud of Billie for having a lead role in a production that does not involve performing live , be it concerts or theater? I mean... lead! It seems that the general consensus is that he improved from a few other roles he's had.

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

I've just noticed (and hate myself for noticing ) but that shirt Billie is wearing is his "The Cats Meow" shirt turned inside out!!  

[WhiteTim]

I love Ordinary World such a perfect song IMO 

[desertrose]

 

[GenXIdiot]

Movie related comment:

Spoiler

I agreed the lack of back story was disappointing, because the character could have been even more charming if we had known what happened. Despite the lack of a back story with the blonde, we LOVED that he rebuffed her advances when she came into the bedroom. It was so sweet! That told us loads about his character; that he really was a good person, who had lost his way. And then he gets up off the bed and plays "Ordinary World"...best scene in the movie. I liked the bittersweet undertone of the whole thing, and Billie portrayed this aspect of the movie better than the comedy, IMO.

 

40 minutes ago, WhiteTim said:

I love Ordinary World such a perfect song IMO 

Best moment in the movie.

[Paola17]

16 minutes ago, GenXIdiot said:

Movie related comment:

  Reveal hidden contents

I agreed the lack of back story was disappointing, because the character could have been even more charming if we had known what happened. Despite the lack of a back story with the blonde, we LOVED that he rebuffed her advances when she came into the bedroom. It was so sweet! That told us loads about his character; that he really was a good person, who had lost his way. And then he gets up off the bed and plays "Ordinary World"...best scene in the movie. I liked the bittersweet undertone of the whole thing, and Billie portrayed this aspect of the movie better than the comedy, IMO.

 

Response to said movie comment: (Don't read if you don't want a partial spoiler)

Spoiler

To tie in with that-just one lip lock in the movie. 
The initial obliviousness of that entire situation was just... awww.

 

[Chin for a Day]

2 minutes ago, Paola17 said:

Response to said movie comment: (Don't read if you don't want a partial spoiler)

  Hide contents

To tie in with that-just one lip lock in the movie. 
The initial obliviousness of that entire situation was just... awww.

 

 

18 minutes ago, GenXIdiot said:

Movie related comment:

  Hide contents

I agreed the lack of back story was disappointing, because the character could have been even more charming if we had known what happened. Despite the lack of a back story with the blonde, we LOVED that he rebuffed her advances when she came into the bedroom. It was so sweet! That told us loads about his character; that he really was a good person, who had lost his way. And then he gets up off the bed and plays "Ordinary World"...best scene in the movie. I liked the bittersweet undertone of the whole thing, and Billie portrayed this aspect of the movie better than the comedy, IMO.

 

Best moment in the movie.

Personally, I adored the scene where he had absolutely no interest in the stripper.  He was more interested in getting his friends to use a coaster.  He cracked me up because that is so something hubby would do.

[gerardsangel4977]

20 minutes ago, JJ1964 said:

I was actually thinking a bit more about what you wrote in your other post and I think you nailed what was wrong with the film.  I'll put it in a spoiler

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 It wasn't just the relationship with the blonde, it was the lack of a back story.  They only briefly touched on why he left music, something about a failed record deal.  They only briefly established how he met his wife, on a subway.  They never really established how important music was to him or what the potential was for him to really succeed.  Was he just a garage band singer or was he Billie Joe Armstrong?  We dont' really know.  He was just this lovable, goofy, guy that used to be in a band.  He briefly regrets leaving music but then realizes he chose the right life.  IT would have been so much more effective if they had established that  he had the potential to be huge and for various circumstances left the business.  

   

 

6 minutes ago, Paola17 said:

Agree with the lack of a back story in several aspects of the film.
Also, this is probably nit-picking, but there were also a few smaller inconsistencies when it came to props and location.

Overall, the movie was alright. Could there have been more aspects refined? Yes. However, it was not bad.
And can we just be proud of Billie for having a lead role in a production that does not involve performing live , be it concerts or theater? I mean... lead! It seems that the general consensus is that he improved from a few other roles he's had.

More spoilers below:

Spoiler

I actually thought the band aspect was framed a bit better than the relationship. There were still a lot of question marks, but they were definitely indicated to be on the edge of something. We got two different explanations for their demise: They were signed to a major label that ultimately dumped the record; and they had gotten an opening slot on a tour with Mudhoney, which they had to pull out of because Perry's wife was pregnant and he apparently made the decision to stay home with her instead of going on said tour. (Why he felt he had to make that choice instead of just going on the tour is beyond me. It's not as if families and touring are an either/or scenario, but this guy obviously thinks it is. Or maybe he was guilted into it. Idk.) We are supposed to infer from the record deal and the tour that these guys were mildly popular within their local scene and were on the verge of breaking out until Perry forced the band to go on "temporary hiatus". Of course, as we all know, none of those things guarantee success, and they could've ultimately ended up in the same scenario anyway, but then the whole point is that he and his bandmates are still lingering on the "what if?" factor. 

They definitely could've chosen a better referential point than Mudhoney, though. Most people nowadays wouldn't even know who they were. And, as proof of my earlier point re: fame being fickle, they also got scooped by Reprise in the post-Nirvana grunge frenzy but never achieved anywhere near that level of commercial success and, ultimately, got dropped from the label after releasing two or three albums with disappointing sales. Now, if they had been opening for Pearl Jam or some such, that would've indicated a much higher threshold for mainstream exposure that I could see his bandmates still being pissed about years later.

In contrast, his relationship with the blonde woman (whose name I can't remember for the life of me), was kept incredibly vague. They didn't even fully explain what her job was that she was apparently travelling with Joan Jett. Rupert even asked Perry if she was an ex-girlfriend, and he said "something like that", which would indicate that she wasn't actually his ex? But then they never really explained what "something like that" was. And then she's all over him and talking about him being "the road not taken", but we literally don't know anything about how/why these two even know each other or why they didn't date in the first place.

As for his wife, knowing more about how they met isn't really integral to the plot, so I'm okay with not exploring that in too much detail.

 

[Chin for a Day]

1 minute ago, gerardsangel4977 said:

 

More spoilers below:

  Hide contents

I actually thought the band aspect was framed a bit better than the relationship. There were still a lot of question marks, but they were definitely indicated to be on the edge of something. We got two different explanations for their demise: They were signed to a major label that ultimately dumped the record; and they had gotten an opening slot on a tour with Mudhoney, which they had to pull out of because Perry's wife was pregnant and he apparently made the decision to stay home with her instead of going on said tour. (Why he felt he had to make that choice instead of just going on the tour is beyond me. It's not as if families and touring are an either/or scenario, but this guy obviously thinks it is. Or maybe he was guilted into it. Idk.) We are supposed to infer from the record deal and the tour that these guys were mildly popular within their local scene and were on the verge of breaking out until Perry forced the band to go on "temporary hiatus". Of course, as we all know, none of those things guarantee success, and they could've ultimately ended up in the same scenario anyway, but then the whole point is that he and his bandmates are still lingering on the "what if?" factor. 

They definitely could've chosen a better referential point than Mudhoney, though. Most people nowadays wouldn't even know who they were. And, as proof of my earlier point re: fame being fickle, they also got scooped by Reprise in the post-Nirvana grunge frenzy but never achieved anywhere near that level of commercial success and, ultimately, got dropped from the label after releasing two or three albums with disappointing sales. Now, if they had been opening for Pearl Jam or some such, that would've indicated a much higher threshold for mainstream exposure that I could see his bandmates still being pissed about years later.

In contrast, his relationship with the blonde woman (whose name I can't remember for the life of me), was kept incredibly vague. They didn't even fully explain what her job was that she was apparently travelling with Joan Jett. Rupert even asked Perry if she was an ex-girlfriend, and he said "something like that", which would indicate that she wasn't actually his ex? But then they never really explained what "something like that" was. And then she's all over him and talking about him being "the road not taken", but we literally don't know anything about how/why these two even know each other or why they didn't date in the first place.

As for his wife, knowing more about how they met isn't really integral to the plot, so I'm okay with not exploring that in too much detail.

 

I disagree on the band aspect.  Like you said, the fact that they used Mudhoney instead of a band like Pearl Jam totally loses the point.  It tells the average watcher nothing about what happened to the band.  Yes, we know there was some kind of problem with a record deal, but we don't know exactly what.  We know there was an issue with him having the kid, but we really don't know the extent.  All we know is that there was the potential of them breaking through, but not really the extent.  We also don't know what Perry's feelings on fame were.  As you said, why did he feel the need to put the band on hiatus?  Was it really because of the kid or was it the record deal or both?  They did not give us enough info to tell what Perry's feelings were on fame or the bands status.  Why didn't the band go on to be more successful without him?  They eventually replaced him.  How important was he?

I think how he met or when he met his wife could have been integral.  It wasn't necessarily so, but it could have been another factor in his "change of heart" with the band.  

 

[Hermione]

2 hours ago, st_trillie said:

I've just noticed (and hate myself for noticing ) but that shirt Billie is wearing is his "The Cats Meow" shirt turned inside out!!  

Lmao excellent  

2 hours ago, WhiteTim said:

I love Ordinary World such a perfect song IMO 

I just think of this every time I see the title though  

 

 

[WhiteTim]

5 minutes ago, Hermione said:

 

I just think of this every time I see the title though  

 

 

I won't lie when I first saw the title I was like cool he covered a Duran Duran song! 

[DookieLukie]

I know a lot of fans have a soft spot for any Green Day acoustic song, but Ordinary World just seems so generic and uninteresting to me.

[GenXIdiot]

1 hour ago, JJ1964 said:

 

  Hide contents

I disagree on the band aspect.  Like you said, the fact that they used Mudhoney instead of a band like Pearl Jam totally loses the point.  It tells the average watcher nothing about what happened to the band.  Yes, we know there was some kind of problem with a record deal, but we don't know exactly what.  We know there was an issue with him having the kid, but we really don't know the extent.  All we know is that there was the potential of them breaking through, but not really the extent.  We also don't know what Perry's feelings on fame were.  As you said, why did he feel the need to put the band on hiatus?  Was it really because of the kid or was it the record deal or both?  They did not give us enough info to tell what Perry's feelings were on fame or the bands status.  Why didn't the band go on to be more successful without him?  They eventually replaced him.  How important was he?

I think how he met or when he met his wife could have been integral.  It wasn't necessarily so, but it could have been another factor in his "change of heart" with the band.  

 

I Agree, 

Spoiler

There should have more about what happened to the band. It wouldn't have been just exposition, it would have given us more information about the character, based on what happened, what choices he made, and why he made them, and how famous he wanted to get. 

Just like how the scene where he rejected the blonde's attempts to get him in the sack was so very good, because we learned a lot about his character, by the choices he made.

 

7 minutes ago, DookieLukie said:

I know a lot of fans have a soft spot for any Green Day acoustic song, but Ordinary World just seems so generic and uninteresting to me.

It was perfect in the movie, in context.

[solongfromthestars]

I really like both of the songs from the movie. Billie's voice sounds amazing! I'm sure it was all even better in real life too.

I also really want to see this movie now!

[GenXIdiot]

1 minute ago, Maria Gloria said:

I really like both of the songs from the movie. Billie's voice sounds amazing! I'm sure it was all even better in real life too.

I also really want to see this movie now!

His singing was on point for sure. The best I've heard him, really. 

[XxXxXxXxX]

Not sure if this has been mentioned already, I have been pretty busy getting back to reality after the screening but Geezer got a 7.9 / 10 on IMDB. That's pretty damn good!

[XxXxXxXxX]

Sidenote: I can't stop listening to scattered after Geezer.

[UNICORN VOMIT]

I love how BJ polished his shoes for the occasion.