Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll (Season 1)

By: Robert Murphy


The old saying goes that true rockstars never die but we all know that some of them should have turned in their leather pants and guitar picks long ago. Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll tells the story of one those bands that had their big break but of course things when downhill due to drinking, drugs and typical band squabbling. Years later not much has changed for Johnny Rock (Denis Leary) and his group "The Heathens" except for the fact that they're all a lot older and their 80's hair band vibe just isn't cutting in today's rock world. Enter Johnny's long lost daughter Gigi (Elizabeth Gillies) whose come to him looking to start her own career in music. She has all the talent of her father with the fresh look and style that is just what "The Heathens" need to finally make it big or rather she has what "The Assassins" need to finally make it big.

At this point in media history people have experienced the mockery of rock and roll cliches like rockers getting black out drunk or having giant orgies before and after their shows. Then, they all fall apart and slowly melt into obscurity whether it's due to band infighting or what have you and from there you either get a bad TV show, looking at you Rock of Love, or end up in a "Where are they now" style story featured on late night TV. So, if audiences have seen and heard all these jokes and stories before then you need a show that does the old jokes better than you've ever seen them before or feature some of the classic rockstar lifestyle to keep our interests peeked. Sadly, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll's first season does neither of those things and realize on the tired cliches that I just explained a moment ago. 

There really is no ground breaking developments in terms of band dynamics here, Johnny still is the selfish guy he was back in the day in a lot of ways so the problems that broke the band up the first time around are still there. Fellow band mate Flash (John Corbett) is also about as cocky and arrogant as Johnny is and in effort to get back at him for all the years of torment and sleeping with his wife, Flash ends up in a relationship with Gigi. It's fun for a couple of episodes but you realize that there isn't any depth to the situation and that it's just a quick laugh that continues for most of the season. Drummer Bam Bam (Robert Kelly) is nothing more than some questionable homosexual and fat jokes and bass guitarist Rehab (John Ales) seems to be an out of place character who still is a heavy drug user but doesn't fit in with the rest of the group with his aging Hall & Oates look.

In terms of fantastic characters the true star for not just the band but the entire show is Gigi. Elizabeth Gillies plays the perfect modern youth role and gives a great deal of sass and leadership to her role, often eclipsing Denis Leary. This isn't to say the two don't work well together as Leary brings a good deal of heart to yet another show and the two play a very believable father-daughter duo which in many ways kept me watching. The family moments spent on Johnny getting back in touch with those around him led to some heart warming moments. The episode where his mother gets remarried is especially good as it reveals not only the relationship of Johnny and her but also the relationship with his father and how fantastic a musician he use to be. It all runs in the family, it's just a shame that the family bonds don't translate better for the band themselves. 

Perhaps the biggest praise I could give to Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll it's appreciation for rock music. Not many big names make their appearance on the show, Dave Grohl gives a brief testimonial during a reunion episode that Johnny watches in the first episode but you don't need big rock names to make a good rock show, you just need epic tunes. This is once again a shining moment for Gigi who lends amazing vocals as the bands lead singer and literally gave me chills when she sang. Every single song was catchy and it felt like the true rock experience when this aspect to the show shined through. Johnny became the bands song writer since Gigi is the lead singer and seeing Leary sit down with paper and a acoustic guitar to write songs was great. Add on top of this the sound studio scenes where the group is rocking out and the music is killing it, I felt like "The Assassins" were really making a debut album and trying to rise to fame. 

Incredible music aside, the premiere season of Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll has the right idea of what it's like to make music but it doesn't get the band dynamic down quite so well. Characters outside of Johnny and Gigi just don't seem to play off of one another and I never found myself being invested in any of them because of it. So, maybe it's best of "The Heathens" fade from the limelight for good this time and not come back for an encore. 

Good:

- Gillies as Gigi

- Exceptional tunes and album making experience

Bad:

- The other band members garner very little attention

- Same cliche rock and roll tropes we've seen before

Scully Rating: 4.0 out of 10