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There’s a reason it’s a natural instinct for a lot of us to pick up the hairbrush or remote control and pretend like we’re performing our favorite music in front of a bathroom or bedroom mirror. For 2-4 minutes, you can picture you’re a superstar, on top of the world, having a blast.
I can only imagine what it’s like to play a musician on film or TV with the actual equipment. I remember Sissy Spacek once saying the most disappointing part of portraying Loretta Lynn in Michael Apted’s biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980) was having to go back to being ‘just an actor’ after spending months performing and living like a country music star.
Rock & roll is already appealing on its own, but combining it with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood can make it even more irresistible. Let’s take a look at some of the most famous fictional bands in film history who make us wish we could jam.
The Rutles (All You Need is Cash)
One of the first on-screen bands to get a cult following was the Rutles from Eric Idle & Gary Weis’ All You Need is Cash (1978), which was a TV mockumentary taking the piss out of the Beatles’ legacy. Not surprisingly, the TV movie quickly found a following, thanks to associates of Monty Python, SNL, real classic rockers and even George Harrison himself appearing in the spoof. Songs like “Hold My Hand” and “Ouch!” are sure to amuse many Beatles fans.
Available on YouTube
The Blues Brothers (The Blues Brothers)
Not long after the Rutles, America’s classic fictional music duo, the Blues Brothers, got their own feature length film with John Landis’ The Blues Brothers (1980). Originally recurring characters on “Saturday Night Live” (1975- ), brothers Jake (John Belushi) & Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) showed Chicago how to have a good time on the big screen with their blues-rock band, along with supporting characters played by James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker and Chaka Khan. The music duo was such a hit with the public, Aykroyd and Belushi even recorded four records as their characters and put on concerts from 1978-1981.
Available on YouTube
Spinal Tap (This is Spinal Tap)
Probably the most famous comedic music group of all time, the guys of Spinal Tap in Rob Reiner’s This is Spinal Tap (1984), have had impressive longevity for the past four decades. Every once in a while, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer will come together in character for special appearances on TV, DVD/Blu-ray or the web and still look like they’re having a blast. Novelty songs like “Big Bottom” and “Listen to the Flower People” are staples for the fake rock band. Of course, we’re still hearing from real musicians on how “too close to home” the original film is.
Available on AppleTV
Josie & the Pussycats (Josie & the Pussycats)
Some fictional bands go on to have a life of their own in real life, like the Monkees and the Archies. But in the case of their female contemporary, Josie & the Pussycats have existed primarily in fiction since 1963. My favorite iteration of the pop-rock trio is Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan’s live-action comedy Josie & the Pussycats (2001). A flop upon release, the movie now lives on as a modern cult classic. But the real gem from the film is the soundtrack. Filled with original material featuring Letters to Cleo frontwoman Kay Hanley as Josie’s singing voice; and contributors like Babyface, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Gos and Anna Waronker of That Dog make for a legitimately good power pop record.
Available on Amazon Prime
The Wonders (That Thing You Do!)
And while we mention Adam Schlesinger, the successful pop-rock musician and record producer is also responsible for one of the greatest earworms of all time: the theme song of Tom Hanks’ whimsical musical-comedy That Thing You Do! (1996). A heartfelt send-up of the British Invasion era of the mid-1960s, Hanks’ band, the Wonders (née the One-ders), experience all the perks of five minutes of fame with their mega-hit single, “That Thing You Do!”. Hanks, himself, is very fittingly cast as their big-shot manager, and Liv Tyler co-stars as the lovely and supportive girlfriend of Johnathan Schaech’s songwriter bandmate of the Wonders. While the group is portrayed as having one hit, the rest of the OST is pretty decent, too.
Available on Hulu
Stillwater (Almost Famous)
Another beloved ode to the classic rock period, Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (2000), has one of the best music inputs from fictional film bands, too. In this case, Stillwater — an amalgam of Led Zeppelin, the Eagles and the Allman Bros. — not only look like real rock stars from the mid-1970s, but they also have their share of quality songs. This is thanks to the movie’s composer and Crowe’s then wife, Nancy Wilson, of the rock band Heart. This modern classic also introduced Patrick Fugit and Kate Hudson to movie viewers as Crowe’s fictionalized self of William Miller and popular ‘band-aid’ Penny Lane.
Available on Paramount+
Munchausen by Proxy (Yes Man)
Fellow Almost Famous alum, Zooey Deschanel, had her own fun fronting an electro-rock band called Munchausen by Proxy in Peyton Reed’s comedy Yes Man (2008). Most of us know Zooey for her twee, hipster persona as an actress and her real pop-folk duo She & Him. But in Yes Man, she gets to rock a little harder alongside real female group Von Iva, who are cast as Deschanel’s bandmates and also co-wrote the movie’s songs with her. This is why tracks like ‘Uh-Huh’ and ‘Sweet Ballad’ are both appropriately silly, yet also sound like real songs.
Available on HBO Max
Sex Bob-Omb (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World)
Sex Bob-Omb of Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) is probably the fake movie band to feature the best assemblage of real music artists since Josie & the Pussycats (2001). Michael Cera’s Scott is supposed to be the leader of a local Toronto garage band, yet the group’s theme song sounds great because it’s written by alt-indie rocker Beck. Some of the songs featured in Scott Pilgrim are actually real, famous songs, but you still can’t go wrong with a soundtrack filled with T.Rex, Metric, Broken Social Scene and the Rolling Stones.
Available on Amazon Prime
School of Rock band (School of Rock)
I think most of us would agree we would have rather spent class in middle school making and playing music, which is exactly what the kids in Richard Linklater’s School of Rock (2003) do. Linklater went through the effort to make sure all of the students in the movie were played by tweens who were genuinely interested in playing music. Their on-screen teacher is played by Jack Black, who is a longtime rock music fanatic. Nearly all the songs performed in the film are covers of classic rock tunes, but School of Rock did so well, it got its own stage musical co-composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 2015-16.
Available on Amazon Prime
Sing Street band (Sing Street)
Finally, and most recently, John Carney’s Sing Street (2016) tells the story of a teenage boy in 1980s Ireland who forms his own band to catch a girl’s attention. With his own music roots as the former bassist of Irish band The Frames and directing music videos, Carney is the perfect director for this tale. He, along with music artist Gary Clark, co-wrote the movie band’s songs. As well as a pre-famous Lucy Boynton playing the love interest, Sing Street works as a good double feature with School of Rock.
Available on Google Play
With these cool, fictional bands, movie fans and music fans alike can live vicariously through a bunch of really fun, good movies with equally good soundtracks.
Do you have a favorite fictional rock band or musician? Did I include them in my list? Let us know in the comments!
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