Mayor of the Sunset Strip

Like its star, it's quietly sincere and compulsively watchable.

Ultimately, Bingenheimer seems underwhelmed with himself. The people who know him say, in the movie, that he's a relic. Mayor of the Sunset Strip makes heartbreakingly clear what a glorious relic Bingenheimer is.

It's a funny-sad portrait of fame and its junkies, and of an era and its music.

Hickenlooper does a nice job blending Bingenheimer's flashy past with his somewhat pathetic present, creating a genuinely compelling study in diminishing returns.

Anyone lucky enough to have lived within broadcast range of Rodney Bingenheimer's radio show on L.A.'s KROQ during the late '70s had a privileged upbringing, whether or not they realized it at the time.

Spectacular song selection gives the docu an appropriate rock 'n' roll swagger and accompanying soundtrack would be a valuable overview of the bands championed by Rodney on the ROQ.

The resulting portrait seems cruel at times, and Bingenheimer's little-boy-lost expression can be heartbreaking.