michaeljhuman I can see where many people would walk away from this movie thinking it was stupid. Well, in some ways it IS stupid. It's not highbrow after all.Here's the skinny...* It's a rock and roll movie (you kind of have to get rock and roll I think) * It's got Blondie (what more do you want? And the band does a cover of Ring of Fire...what more do you want??) * It's a romance of sorts, intermingled with silly craziness...you sort of have to like silly craziness in movies... * It's got the makings of a cult classic, IMO; You can revel in it's offbeat characters and plot and thinking is highly discouraged * Meatloaf is really charismatic in it...hard to not fall in love with his innocence and integrity as portrayed * The countless mispronunciations of Redfish by the promoter are great - they bring to mind Guybrush Threepwood in the computer games series Monkey Island...does he EVER pronounce it right? * What's her name is pretty damn cuteHere's what you won't get - * A coherent plot (like I say, thinking is optional) * Depth of any sort (don't go looking for it, it's a shallow movie, nothing wrong with that) * Mainstream appeal (some people will never like it, it's too offbeat, but fans of offbeat comedies may love it)Anyway, you know who you are. Some people like offbeat rock and roll comedies and some don't. Don't bother watching it if you don't.

jack_clubs Okay, so I am a huge Cheap Trick fan and they do the title song on this movie. Not my favorite CT song, but as a huge fan, I felt the need to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised. Having no expectations, it turns out Roadie is a fun snapshot of late 70s/early 80s rock and roll.Meatloaf is enjoyable to watch as the lovable cowboy, who goes along with a rock show as their go-to fix-it man. All for the love of a 16-year-old groupie. (Did anybody else have a problem with this? I was trying to remember if there were pedophile laws back then. Contrary to the fleshy movie poster, there is nudity in this movie.) Other fun roles are by Art Carney, Don Corlenlous, Joe Spano and of course, all the music stars. It's always great to see famous musicians in movie roles, where you don't expect them to be great actors, but more of just themselves. Roy Orbison, Alice Cooper, Debbie Harry and Hank Williams Jr. all seems to be having fun and go along with the breezy plot.The music scene at the time of this movie (1980) was at a crossroads. Mainstream rock and country were up against disco (thankfully, not in this movie), punk and new wave. The soundtrack reflects this - a perfect example is Blondie's cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire. I really wish Meatloaf would have had a chance to sing some of his classics. But the rest of the music is good enough to forgive some of the silly plot moments and acting. I need to try and find the soundtrack, which I hear is out of print. Does anyone know if a CD was ever released?7 out of 10 stars for a fun trip back in time when rock and roll was a little bit more honest. The life of a roadie can be interesting when you have to keep the circus moving. Roadie definitely doesn't take itself too seriously, which is what a good rock and roll movie should do.

moonspinner55 Four years after making his directorial debut with the art-house snoozer "Welcome To L.A.", Alan Rudolph shows us what he really wanted from Hollywood was to be one of the guys. "Roadie" is a frat-boy fracas complete with barroom brawls, horny harpies, Art Carney in a souped-up wheelchair...and Meat Loaf at the wheel. Meat Loaf (playing Travis W. Redfish!) is actually a rather charming presence on the screen, and perhaps in a smaller role (in a better movie) he might indeed be ingratiating, but Zalman King's script is full of stereotypical redneck humor and helpless Meat Loaf is kept wide-eyed and moronic. Alice Cooper, Roy Orbison, Hank Williams, Jr., and Blondie all make appearances--and all look embarrassed. They certainly should, "Roadie" is one bad trip. NO STARS from ****

paulproia Where to begin? How best to describe just how awful this movie is???Let's start with the campy hick humor. It isn't very funny. Add a bunch of musicians impersonating actors - Meat Loaf is horrible and Deborah Harry is even worse. Pity poor Art Carney, who should have known better than to do this movie.And then there is the plot. A roadie whose life goal is to work an Alice Cooper show meets a girl whose life goal is to be a groupie for Alice Cooper. At least they get what they want...And then, just when the movie should end, they can't come up with a more plausible last scene than a - well, I won't ruin it for you if you really want to see the movie.There are certain actors that let you know that this is going to be a "B" movie or perhaps worse. Gailard Sartain is one of them for me - and he has a more prominent role. That's a sure sign that the movie probably won't be very good. If nothing else, the movie lives up to the low expectations - even exceeds them by being worse than poor.Let's just say this. This is the movie against which all bad movies are compared. And none are worse than Roadie.