[Dixielandjazz] The Gig

[Dan Augustine]

=46olks--
    Dave Stoddard loaned me a videotape of a movie called "The Gig", which i=
 watched last night.  It was made in 1985 and wasn't bad.  Here's a synopsis=
 of the plot from the Internet Database:

"User Comments:
Hermit C-2
Marietta, GA, USA
Date: 30 April 1999
Summary: A wonderful sleeper.
    This film gave me probably the most pleasant surprise of any I've ever=
 seen. It was not a big-budget production and its premise, middle-age=
 amateur jazz musicians get an unexpected professional engagement at a=
 Catskills-like resort, seems rather modest. What's not modest is the film's=
 success. This is a little slice-of-life movie that is most entertaining=
 throughout. Director Frank D. Gilroy also wrote the script and it's full of=
 interesting subplots and unexpected twists.
    The actors are journeymen who do a solid job. The biggest revelation to=
 me was Cleavon Little. He plays a professional musician who is hired to=
 fill in for an ailing band member. His attitude immediately clashes with=
 the others. While they see it as an opportunity for big fun and a once in a=
 lifetime thing, he sees it as his job and not a particularly interesting=
 one. This leads to conflict but when the group gets in trouble, he steers=
 them through. Little, who died too young, really showed me he was a fine=
 actor with this film.
This movie is a true sleeper, the kind that a film fan always hopes to=
 discover. I recommend it wholeheartedly."

User Rating:  6.2/10 (31 votes) 

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wayne Rogers    .... 	Marty Flynn 
Cleavon Little	.... 	Marshall Wilson 
Andrew Duncan   .... 	Jack Larmon 
Jerry Matz	.... 	Aaron Wohl 
Daniel Nalbach	.... 	Arthur Winslow 
Warren Vach=E9	.... 	Gil Macrae 

    Warren Vach=E9 was pretty good as an actor, and he also blew some nice=
 figures.  Don't know who the other actual players were.  For those of us=
 wistfully imagining ourselves as Professional Dixieland Musicians, this=
 little movie furnishes ever-increasing doses of what pros sometimes have to=
 put up with.
    Don't run right out and buy it or rent it, but if you like Wayne Rogers=
 (from M.A.S.H.) or Cleavon Little (from "Blazing Saddles"), you might give=
 it a shot if you run across it.

    Dan