This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/music/australia-culture-blog/2014/feb/10/inxs-never-tear-us-apart-review

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
INXS: Never Tear Us Apart – review INXS: Never Tear Us Apart – review
(7 months later)
Still, it’s Still, it’s been working. Each of those series were ratings winners, and the pre-premiere hype surrounding INXS: Never Tear Us Apart – the Seven Network’s new miniseries, produced with the full cooperation of the band and their manager CM Murphy, and proudly touted by Seven as the “extraordinary, uncensored story of the most successful band of the ‘80s” (Milli Vanilli?) – promises a stream of local musical biopics to come. Weir: the Killing Heidi Story, Bachelor Girl: Buses and Trains … You can see Nine and Ten drafting up the paperwork already.
been working. Each of those series were ratings winners, and the pre-premiere Like those other series, rather than exploring character or theme, INXS: Never Tear Us Apart concentrates on the signifiers of the era, intercutting its soapy melodrama with real-life footage of 90s kids in acid-wash jeans and era-specific IXL jam ads. It’s given an accidental dose of topicality, though, when a voiceover pops up midway during an 80s cityscape montage to say, “The pub scene in Sydney was fantastic. You could play a gig at midnight or 3am.” Somewhere in Sydney, Barry O’Farrell is sweating (even more than usual).
hype surrounding INXS: Never Tear Us But while the epic rock‘n’roll fantasy might be a dying dream for local upstarts, they can always look back. The first part of this miniseries follows the usual formula: fledgling young band faces parental defiance and audience indifference; tours endlessly and amasses a growing fanbase; hears own single on radio (complete with requisite tour van freakout); gains international recognition; and ultimately falls into a quagmire of booze, drugs and Adam Ant’s leftover groupies. The story might be “uncensored” (especially the groupie boobs galore), but anyone familiar with a movie like La Bamba or the melodramatic made-for-TV benchmark The Jacksons: An American Dream has seen it all before.
Apart – the Seven Network’s new Framed in odd interview flashbacks, the series is instantly bogged down in exposition and a desire to chart all the details. I mean, do we really need to know that Michael Hutchence picked up a girl in Perth in 1979 with his fluent Mandarin? I guess it’s more useful than just jump-cutting to her anonymous boobs for a split-second. The series hits its stride when it loosens up a bit and focuses on the band’s backstage camaraderie, particularly Tim Farris (Nicholas Masters) as the band’s enthusiastic go-getter, Andrew Farris (Underbelly: Squizzy’s Andy Ryan) as the reluctant young ’un, and, of course, Michael Hutchence (Winners and Losers’ Luke Arnold) as the charismatic whirlwind amongst them all.
miniseries, produced with the full cooperation of the band and their manager CM Arnold plays Hutchence with the appropriate slithery 80s sexuality, all limp and arching, like a kid trying to shake a bug off his back. “The whole crowd, they wanted to fuck you,” says bandmate Andrew, after the band’s first successful gig. “I wanna fuck you, too.”
Murphy, and proudly touted by Seven as the “extraordinary, uncensored story of While Hutchence is depicted as the band’s soul, Jim Morrison reincarnate, a frizzy-haired rock god that all the girls in my kindergarten class crushed on, Andrew Farris is given his due as the group’s brains. Played by Ryan as an anxious mope, he’s the focus of some of the episode’s highlights, like a should-be-goofy scene where he lets a waiting taxi run up a $50 meter in his driveway as he hurries back inside with a creative burst to lay down the riff of Need You Tonight.
the most successful band of the ‘80s” (Milli Vanilli?) – promises a stream of By the episode’s end – the second part continues next Sunday – we’ve been introduced to Samantha Jade’s toothy and green Kylie Minogue, seen the band’s Kick top worldwide charts, enjoyed a steady parade of hotel suite debauchery, and watched Hutchence morbidly allude to his own demise (“Do you have a goal in life?” some journalist asks him. “Other than this? Yeah, to die laughing.“). It might not have anything original to say, but at least it sets a cracking pace – and with curly mullets, too.
local musical biopics to come. Weir: the
Killing Heidi Story, Bachelor Girl:
Buses and Trains … You can see Nine and Ten drafting up the paperwork
already.
Like those other
series, rather than exploring character or theme, INXS: Never Tear Us Apart concentrates on the signifiers of the era, intercutting its soapy melodrama with real-life
footage of 90s kids in acid-wash jeans and era-specific IXL jam ads. It’s
given an accidental dose of topicality, though, when a voiceover pops up midway
during an 80s cityscape montage to say, “The pub scene in Sydney was
fantastic. You could play a gig at midnight or 3am.” Somewhere in Sydney, Barry
O’Farrell is sweating (even more than usual).
But while
the epic rock‘n’roll fantasy might be a dying dream for local upstarts, they
can always look back. The first part of this miniseries follows the usual
formula: fledgling young band faces parental defiance and audience
indifference; tours endlessly and amasses a growing fanbase; hears own single
on radio (complete with requisite tour van freakout); gains international
recognition; and ultimately falls into a quagmire of booze, drugs and Adam
Ant’s leftover groupies. The story might be “uncensored” (especially the
groupie boobs galore), but anyone familiar with a movie like La Bamba or the melodramatic made-for-TV
benchmark The Jacksons: An American Dream
has seen it all before.
Framed in odd
interview flashbacks, the series is instantly bogged down in exposition and a desire
to chart all the details. I mean, do we really need to know that Michael
Hutchence picked up a girl in Perth in 1979 with his fluent Mandarin? I guess
it’s more useful than just jump-cutting to her anonymous boobs for a split-second.
The series hits its stride when it loosens up a bit and focuses on the band’s backstage
camaraderie, particularly Tim Farris (Nicholas Masters) as the band’s enthusiastic
go-getter, Andrew Farris (Underbelly:
Squizzy’s Andy Ryan) as the reluctant young ’un, and, of course, Michael
Hutchence (Winners and Losers’ Luke
Arnold) as the charismatic whirlwind amongst them all.
Arnold plays
Hutchence with the appropriate slithery 80s sexuality, all limp and arching,
like a kid trying to shake a bug off his back. “The whole crowd, they
wanted to fuck you,” says bandmate Andrew, after the band’s first successful
gig. “I wanna fuck you, too.”
While
Hutchence is depicted as the band’s soul, Jim Morrison reincarnate, a
frizzy-haired rock god that all the girls in my kindergarten class crushed on,
Andrew Farris is given his due as the group’s brains. Played by Ryan as an
anxious mope, he’s the focus of some of the episode’s highlights, like a
should-be-goofy scene where he lets a waiting taxi run up a $50 meter in his driveway
as he hurries back inside with a creative burst to lay down the riff of Need
You Tonight.
By the episode’s end – the second part continues next Sunday – we’ve been introduced to Samantha Jade’s toothy and green Kylie Minogue, seen the band’s Kick top worldwide charts, enjoyed a
steady parade of hotel suite debauchery, and watched Hutchence morbidly allude
to his own demise (“Do you have a goal in life?” some journalist asks him.
“Other than this? Yeah, to die laughing.“). It might not have anything original
to say, but at least it sets a cracking pace – and with curly mullets, too.