I’ll say this about Cameron Crowe, who could use some praise after the disastrously received Aloha: He’s nothing if not consistent. If you guessed that the trailer for Roadies, Crowe’s Showtime hour-long comedy that he created, directed, and wrote, would begin with a Tom Petty quote and feature an Eddie Vedder song, well, then you’ve seen a Cameron Crowe film before.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Roadies gives an insider’s look at the reckless, romantic, funny, and often poignant lives of a committed group of “roadies” who live for music and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way. The music-infused ensemble comedy series chronicles the rock world through the eyes of music’s unsung heroes and puts the spotlight on the backstage workers who put the show on the road while touring the United States for a successful arena-level band. (Via Youtube)
The life of a roadie isn’t a bad idea for a show, and the on-screen (Luke Wilson and Carla Gugino) and off-screen (J.J. Abrams and My So-Called Life‘s Winnie Holzman) talent is impressive. But as it is with most of Crowe’s projects, whether Roadies is any good comes down to its sentimentality. Just the right amount, and you’ve got the nostalgically pleasing Almost Famous; too much, and you’re left with the gooey Elizabethtown. It’s a fine line to balance. Showtime hopes Crowe (who had to rewrite an entire character) can pull it off.
