Cheap Mayor of the Sunset Strip (DVD) (Rodney Bingenheimer) (George Hickenlooper) Price

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Roxy roller
By turns outrageously funny and reflectively sad, this fascinating look at the life of L.A. music scene fixture Rodney Bingenheimer is a must-see for anyone claiming to be a serious rock fan. The diminutive, skittish and soft-spoken Bingenheimer comes off as Andy Warhol's West coast twin, or perhaps the Forrest Gump of rock and roll-somehow he has been in the hurricane's eye of every major music "scene" since the mid 60's, from Monkeemania (working as Davey Jones' double!) to becoming the first DJ to champion current superstars Coldplay. Although ostensibly "about" Rodney, the film is at its core a whirlwind timetrip through Rock's evolution, filtered through a coked-out L.A. haze. The ongoing photograph montages of Rodney posing with an A-Z roster of every major seminal rock figure in the genre's history began to remind me of Woody Allen's Alfred Zelig, a nondescript milquetoast who could morph his appearance to match whomever he was with at the time. Rodney himself remains a cypher; in one scene he fidgets nervously and begs the director to turn off the camera when the questions get too "close". There is also a sad irony; despite his ability to attract the company of the rich and famous (and they all appear to adore the man), the fruits of fame and success evade Rodney himself. He drives a "beater" to his DJ job at L.A.'s legendary KROQ; he lives alone in a cluttered little hovel, where treasured memorabilia like Elvis Presely's first driver's license(!) collects dust next to the empty pizza boxes. Priceless commentary from the likes of music producer Kim Fowley (whose own wacked-out rock 'n' roll career contains enough fodder for a whole other documentary), Pamela Des Barres (legendary groupie; aka "Miss Pamela" of Frank Zappa proteges The G.T.O.'s)and her husband, musician Michael Des Barres. One of the best "rockumentaries" to date.