Dissaponting portrait of a jazz legend

Judging from what I know of Baker, having watched interviews and live gigs on DVD, read a serious biography, watched a feature documentary, and listened to a lot of his music over 20 years or so, this film fails to capture Baker's spirit, art, complexity or brutality.

Instead, it settles for an easy characature of a generic tortured child-like jazz artist who just can't help himself and naturally plays best on drugs because... Well, that's where they find their muse, right?

Of course, if you don't know or care who Baker was, you might get something out of it... And at least there is some nice music in there... But less than you might imagine. Personally, I thought the film was very poor even as a complete fiction.

For a 'tortured jazz trumpet player film', you're better off with Curtiz's 'Young Man With a Horn'... in my opinion.

Trust me, true Chet Baker fans will want to avoid this.



If to stand pat means to resist evil then, yes, neighbour, we wish to stand pat.