MovieChat Forums > Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2004) Discussion > Tragic yet fascinating

Tragic yet fascinating

posted 20 years ago by rexbot
20 replies | jump to latest

Rodney's life really isn't all that pathetic. Yeah, so he seems to have had a kind of screwed up childhood: who hasn't? He has also hung out with some of the greatest stars which seems to have been his lifes ambition. He has experienced more than moderate success in his chosen field of the entertainment industry. And let us not forget that he seems to have had his share and more of nubile young women. In short he seems to have accomplished many of the goals he has set for himself and would be marked as at least a 'moderate success' in most peoples books.

Yet somehow even after you see the film evidence of a fairly sucessful and interesting life you end up feeling sorry for the guy. I think you feel sorry for him becouse he seems to feel sorry for himself for some reason. That perpetual lack of confidence that he seems to have. He seems to be the poster child for how ones attitude determines ones life.

What do you think?

[–] kevintheharpster 20 years ago

Yea, he has some unsettled issues for sure. I think a lot of people missed the tragedy aspect of the movie. To me it seemed like he was always searching for the validation and affection he didn't get from Mom. She was so wrapped up in Hollywood, so he breaks into the Hollywood scene. Maybe she will accept him and pay attention to him if he knows famous people. Tragicly, all his life people have wanted to know him, not for who he is, but for what he can do for them. I got the feeling that the girls he hung out with when he was younger all were using him as a stepping stone to meet actual band members. All his life he just wanted someone to love him and be interested in him. In the end I think he felt so alone because he was never validated by others for who he was. He was used and abused by the Hollywood machine, only as important as who he knew.

[–] Cameron_Frye 20 years ago

Yeah, I definately got that vibe as well. Felt as if he was getting used by the community. I mean, anytime you have Corey Feldman and Kato Kaelin hanging around you, you know you are getting leached. I felt so depressed at the end of this flick.

[–] mamordenkrieg 16 years ago

Yeah-i concur w/ the above two posts.

Indeed VERY depressing.I really didn't get anything from this film.Certainly made me not feel sorry for Rodney.

He seemed pathetic.Really.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] arieldakota 16 years ago

Every time I watch the film, I find myself thinking "Wow, how could this be so one sided?" I mean, they show the people he's made famous, and everything, but, they don't really show anything about HIM, as a person, and he's the focus of the entire movie, right? They show what he's done, and they show who he knows, but they don't let you get to know the man. They follow him around, but at the end of the film, I find myself asking the question "Who is Rodney Bingenheimer?" You get to know his family, like how his dad wanted to be in the movies, but you don't get to know about what Rodney wanted to be. You get to know his mom was a waitress, and Rodney had to stay home alone a lot, but you don't get to know about his first jobs, other then what he did AFTER he got to Hollywood. Is it just me, or does the film seem to be more about the people Rodney knows, rather then Rodney himself? They show him with all of those stars, but, only rarely with any good friends of his. I mean, his own dad didn't even seem to know that much about his son. Am I the only one who noticed this? Or... Am I just looking too closely?

"CUZ I'M A MEAN LITTLE GIRL!"

[–] rodger o thornhill 16 years ago

You hit the nail on the head. It's exactly the point of the film. We can't know Rodney because he doesn't know himself. All he knows is what he wants to see on the outside because to look inside would be too agonizing. He is a metaphor for our celebrity obsessed culture. We are so fragmented internally we stare in awe at the golden calf so we don't have to see the internal bleeding inside.

[–] aerophlyn 16 years ago

Maybe he doesn't know himself, or maybe it only appears this way because he is just very shy and private like he says. Either way, he doesn't give us much. In this regard, the documentary is superficial, but there a lot of surface to cover without going very deep. The amount of lives this guy has touched is unreal, famous lives no less(as if that's more significant).

[–] rexdal1 9 years ago

Very insightful - just the feeling I got
I m not surprized that it it was such a success at the festival
it touched almost every chord in my body (Laughter, sadness, alieanation, desertion, )
I think he is an UN-SUNG HERO ...........anjd Rodney you really did live quite a life and be very PROUD of it - you grabbed the Balls by the hand it followed a dream and succeeded at it ..I know a few people that have met you and ALL say you are a Charmer -warm, caring and full of life
I too was a early (9-15) facination with stardom though I was more centered on MUSIC stars had no interest in movie /hollywood celebs
I am blessed to have met (photo in the Joplin re-vised edition of "Buried Alive" ) might be simple but in the Pix Joplin reaches out and touched my hand at Forrest Hill , Queens , Met Jimi,(sdaly living in an LSD trip) Morrisson
an amazing beautiful creature -with the soul of 0f a VERY old soul, blew me away with his interests & insight, Garcia -actually a BORE -unless he was talking then the room would listen -outside of those mentioned I was moved by Patti Smith -she almost spoke in riddles her words were a flow of pure delight in conversation

in closing chances are you have the DVD if not GET IT !!!!!!!!!!!
RicksTer

[–] vince4953529 16 years ago

I think the film did this on purpose to show people despite Rodney's success to fame, he's a lonely person trying to find who he really is. All his life he hung out with all the celebrities, but he couldn't find people who really care for him, have affection on him, and want to be with him for who he really is and not for what he can do for them.

[–] purplehaze-6 15 years ago

I think that Rodney is essentially doing a fantastic A&R job through the years for popular music on commercial broadcast radio. The film does a great job of showing the self-imposed isolation from someone who is in the media. There are too many instant friends who just want some type of access to his connections with either the media or famous people. I hope that Rodney will make a move to satellite radio and leave behind the station which feels he is not worthy of having a decent time slot for his radio show.

[–] thatsmydesire 15 years ago

And Phil Spector's note to him saying "Be Good to Rock & it will always be good to you!"

Hmmmmmm.
'Nuff said.

[–] hnewstadt 15 years ago

Rodney's decades long success in maintaining close relationships with rock royalty is as much a result of his neutral personality and lack of material aspirations as it is his devotion to the famous and rock culture. At the same time, he was quite a talent scout, and you have to wonder why he didn't stick with a big label as an A&R man or producer? When the film asks why he hasn't financially benefited from his relationships, it may be that his success is the result of never asking for anything but a few pieces of memorabilia. Of course, the items on his wall (or his David Bowie demos) would probably buy him a much nicer home, but that's not what he seems to be about. Sure, he is unhappy and lonely, but he still has an interesting job and he is not dead (like many of his acquaintances).

[–] TimBur77 14 years ago

Rodney, thank you for this album!
http://hubpages.com/hub/Annette-Funicello-The-Best-Of-Annette-Vinyl-LP-Review

[–] pocketnunu 15 years ago

I'm not sure what it is that compelled me to watch the whole film because I actually was kind of bored. You would think Rodney would be this kind of interesting character, but in and of himself he was not. He's this inoffensive fellow who was very accepting and throughout seemed like such a blank -- so many pictures where is face is very -- doesn't give much away. With that nervous little laugh and a shrug, followed by an ellipsis, he leaves much unsaid for you to make your own conclusion.

But he leaves you with a sense of enduring sadness and emptiness.

[–] anthonyjohnFReynolds 15 years ago

Bowie comes across as jolly nice.

"ah have always depended upon the strangeness of kindness..."

[–] benleatherwood 14 years ago

There are a lot of untold aspects to Rodney's life including his near worship of Kim Fowley, who has a reputation for being a sexual predator, that they stayed clear of in this doc. There are reasons he didn't work for music labels as he slept with many a bands girlfriends and even wives. He has burned a lot of bridges in the industry as well.

In the Documentary Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways, you get a real sense just how dark a side both of these guys have. Rodney wore out his welcome in a lot of places with his needy approach to always wanting to get backstage and into the right party.

You can see how forward he is with some of the musicians and how they really wish he would stop doing being so aggressive with the whole celebrity aspect of their contact. Its pretty obvious they are thankful for him playing their music but that's really all they want from him and other radio stations that they do promotions for.

By the way, some of the early demos that he has are worth serious amounts of money as alluded to by David Bowie. But all that stuff he collects is all he has, its his legacy or so he thinks.

[–] cathy-creswell 8 years ago

Ill have to check out that docu on the Runaways. Cheri Curry spoke out in this docu about Fowley, but you are right, they didnt really pursue it. Fowley is enough of a narcissistic creep here that it speaks for itself.

[–] acostine-1 14 years ago

I've been listening to rock/pop music for the past 35 years and had never even heard of Rodney. On viewing the film recently I began wondering if the whole thing was an elaborate satire along the lines of Spinal Tap. All the more disturbing then to find that it is about a real person. I guess the lesson of the movie is that star worship - especially in L.A. - is ultimately an empty affair. However I don't think we should feel too sorry for Rodney if all the stories of his sexual conquests are true. I can think of a lot worse ways to pass ones life. Oh, and his haircut is truly terrifying!

[–] billymac72 14 years ago

The only thing I found tragic about Rodney is that he doesn't seem to have ever grown up. He lives in a state of arrested development. For those who worship youth (and we can thank Rodney's generation for the emphasis placed upon it today), a man-child fate awaits you. The recordings of Rodney in the early 60s (calling the White House) sound virtually identical to his voice today. One of his common phrases is, "I am ageless!" Really?

Beyond this, I don't find anything tragic about Rodney. Considering his utter lack of a skill set (apart from who he knows), he is an amazing success story. I think he's had an incredible life by virtue of all the famous people he's been around. The documentarians in this case strained to find thier angle, imo, and tried to make his seem tragic in some way. If being a bit of a drip makes one tragic, then hey....there you are.

[–] CCRider01 13 years ago

"The only thing I found tragic about Rodney is that he doesn't seem to have ever grown up."

That was my take very early into the film, Rodney is portrayed as a man with "Peter Pan" complex. Even though in some ways, he had a very interesting life, certainly more "glamorous" than the average Joe, the film ultimately portrayed him as an empty vessel constantly searching for acceptance by the famous people he deemed more worthy. In the end he was left without any real emotional connection to anyone. Just look at how detached the "love of his life" was on camera, when he was waxing about about how much she meant to him. Even she was detached and projected little in the way of truly caring for the guy.