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Cautionary tales about the perils of the recording industry are nothing new—they've been around nearly as long as the business itself. But when one comes along that is more than just a grease opera rewrite of "Pygmalion," it's almost too much to believe. The fact that its initial box office failure sent it into three decades of obscurity only adds to the luster.
Harvey Keitel plays Coleman Buckmaster, a hitmaking record producer who is convinced that "The Group" (Earth Wind & Fire) has what it takes to storm the charts. Hearing their "Reasons," "Shining Star" and the title song, (all of which made the soundtrack album a #1 hit—actually the first by a black group with a single also at #1) who could disagree? Well, Keitel's tin-eared boss (Carlton James) for one, who's more interested in pushing a Carpenters-style group The Pages (Cynthia Bostick, longtime Miss America host Bert Parks and former child hitmaker Jimmy "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" Boyd) managed by mob-connected Michael Dante. Under duress, Buckmaster takes The Pages and turns their twee ditty into a full pop production, and a chart topper.
In the process, Velour Page (Bostick) seduces Buckmaster both professionally and personally, proposing marriage and management. He accepts, only to turn the tables on everyone (earning, ironically, the begrudging respect of the mafia don covertly running the company).
That's The Way Of The World, the directorial debut of Superfly producer Sig Shore, is brutally honest—not just about the business, and the ego-inflated thugs who run it (even today...um, Rhino excepted, of course!) but every aspect of how a record is produced and promoted, vintage 1975. If there's a better depiction of recording studio work on film—either dramatic or documentary—I haven't seen it (the only thing missing is the tedium). Radio and TV personalities push the talent around, cocaine is commonplace (heroin even makes a cameo) and corruption is the currency.
Even the movie poster tagline—"Where Were You When The Stardust Hit The Fan?"—inspires a sardonic smirk.
In the post-Watergate/pre-Disco era, is it any surprise the film was a flop? Pop music was the last bastion of escapism (everyone knew what a den of snakes the movies were already) and a downer like this, critical praise notwithstanding, was unwelcome. After a lackluster United Artists release (and rerelease as Shining Star to capitalize on the hit single), the film was seemingly buried, leaving funk fans to wonder what the mention of a feature film on the album's back cover was all about.
Keitel, who made this between his career cornerstones Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Taxi Driver, gives a relatively flat performance, but then again, most record producers' personalities are relatively flat! EWF's Maurice White actually holds his own against the future Oscar nominee, though no doubt he was acting from experience.
As for "The Group," who get three full-length performances in the film, some might look askance at the notion of EWF playing the "authentic" act, considering what a slick pop machine they had become. But relatively speaking, both then and now, their credentials as musicians and performers are unimpeachable. Still, imagine how much more pointed the film would have been with Funkadelic, Kool & the Gang or even the Ohio Players in their place (and okay, as long as I'm dreaming, Dustin Hoffman should've had Keitel's role).
Interestingly enough, Keitel and EWF are virtually the only ones to have come through the experience unscathed. Neither Bostick nor screenwriter Robert Lipsyte (a sportswriter and young adult novelist) ever did another major motion picture; though he performs respectably, Parks likewise never had another meaty film role. Sig Shore's film career also stagnated.
Radio legends Frankie Crocker and Murray The K make cameo appearances, as does soul singer Doris Troy and (unintentionally, I'd imagine) a billboard for EWF's previous album in a Sunset Strip sequence.
The DVD release features a new HD master, remixed 5.1 soundtrack, a decent booklet, and commentary by two surviving EWF members. Nicely done.
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