Roadie is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Alan Rudolph. It follows the story of Travis W. Redfish, a Texas truck driver and beer distributor who becomes a roadie for a traveling rock and roll show. The film stars Meat Loaf in his first starring role, alongside Kaki Hunter, Art Carney, Gailard Sartain, and features cameo appearances by musicians including Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr., Alice Cooper, and the members of Blondie.
Plot Summary
Travis W. Redfish (Meat Loaf) is a good-natured Texan who works for a beer company and his family's salvage business. After helping a broken-down RV carrying a rock tour group, he is persuaded by aspiring groupie Lola Bouillabaisse (Kaki Hunter) to drive them to a show in Austin. His exceptional ability to set up sound and lighting equipment quickly impresses music mogul Mohammed Johnson, leading to a series of adventures across the country. Travis travels to Hollywood and New York, saves concerts with his inventive problem-solving (including building a cow-dung-powered electrical generator), and clumsily pursues Lola, who is saving herself for Alice Cooper. The film culminates with Travis returning to Texas for his sister's wedding, followed by Lola giving up her groupie aspirations to join him.
Cast
- Meat Loaf as Travis W. Redfish
- Kaki Hunter as Lola Bouillabaisse
- Art Carney as Corpus C. Redfish
- Gailard Sartain as B.B. Muldoon
- Alice Cooper as himself
- Blondie (including Debbie Harry) as themselves
- Roy Orbison as himself
- Hank Williams Jr. as himself
Production
The film was based on characters created by Texas author James "Big Boy" Medlin, who wrote about a mechanic named Travis Redfish. Medlin and Michael Ventura wrote the screenplay, with Zalman King and Alan Rudolph contributing to the story. The film was produced by Carolyn Pfeiffer and distributed by United Artists. The budget was approximately $4.7–5 million.
Reception
The film received generally negative reviews upon release. Roger Ebert gave it one and a half stars out of four, criticizing its lack of focus. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 14% approval rating based on 7 reviews. The film grossed $4,226,370 at the box office, falling short of its production budget. Despite the poor critical reception, some retrospective reviews have been more favorable, with Nathan Rabin praising the film's unique charm in a 2013 DVD review.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album was released in 1980 and features songs by Cheap Trick, Pat Benatar, Alice Cooper, Styx, Blondie, Roy Orbison, Emmylou Harris, and others. It received a four-out-of-five rating from AllMusic.
