SummarySex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is a ripsnorting portrait of mercurial British punk rock pioneer Ian Dury. From a troubled childhood and a battle with debilitating polio to the effects of fame on relationships and fatherhood, here are the highs and lows of a life lived sneeringly, unapologetically out loud. (Tribeca Film)
Directed By:Mat Whitecross
Written By:Paul Viragh
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Metascore
Mixed or Average
57
User score
Generally Favorable
7.2
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
33% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
67% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
80
Musical biopics usually replicate a star's rise and fall in depressingly predictable fashion. Hurray, then, for Mat Whitecross and his vibrantly eclectic take on what should feel like the same old story.
80
It's an energetic and vivacious film that will appeal to fans of punk rock worldwide and should find its place in the pantheon of great music-film biographies.
60
A sometimes whimsical and magical take on the life of one of Britain’s most artistically charged rock stars. Serkis shines in his role as the troubled singer.
50
A new biopic of eccentric British rock legend Ian Dury, Andy Serkis uncoils a performance of spit, grit and wit so ferocious it only serves to starkly clarify how unremarkable and formulaic the rest of the movie is.
50
Its flashes of style are sometimes lively but more often seem, like the slavish period décor, to be desperate attempts to overcome the built-in inertia of the genre.
50
Paul Viragh's script is too bitty to hold it all together, and filigrees of technique fail to disguise the weaknesses in helmer Mat Whitecross' first solo flight.
User score
Generally Favorable
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
33% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Aug 19, 2010
8
Excellent Biopic of the late, great Ian Dury portrayed to a tee by Andy Serkis.
It does start off a bit messy, jumping around in a surreal state between timelines but once it settles down, is very well done.
The cast play out their roles well, dialogue is sharp & witty like Dury & the music works as it's Serkis singing rather than miming to a backing track.
My only real criticism is that it didn't show more about Dury's life later on & just portrayed him up to the mid/late 80s.
Production Company:
- Aegis Film Fund
- DJ Films
- Hindsight Media
- Lipsync Productions
- UK Film Council
Release Date:May 5, 2010
Duration:1 h 55 m
Rating:TV-MA
Tagline:"There are a couple of ways to avoid death - one is to be magnificent!" Ian Dury
Awards
London Critics Circle Film Awards
• 2 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 2 Nominations
Evening Standard British Film Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
