Not Fade Away
Lori and I saw David Chase's new romanticized semi-autobiographical movie Not Fade Away last night. It's a new release with a spectacular soundtrack (Little Steven was its executive producer), but it was a private showing: we were the only ones in the theater at 9:30. That begs the question of whether something can fade away if it was never really there at all. Not Fade Away is not the first "Beatles era coming of age in New Jersey" movie; I Wanna Hold Your Hand covered that ground way back in 1978. That movie was also more "down home" to me, as it started within walking distance of my childhood home. Not Fade Away's New Jersey feels more ersatz: It sure looks like New Jersey, and is full of the types of artifacts and references that one might have found there in the '60's. It doesn't take more than a minute in to the opening scene for the "We're in New Jersey!" announcement with a name check of Delbarton Academy (a p...