With the release of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Storythe last possible rock biopic, it's probably time to look at one of several movies that defied the cliches of the genre.
La Bamba is the title song and dance craze (para bailar La Bamba. . .)in the story of Ricardo Valenzuela who becomes Richie Valens and whose life ended tragically in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly. The presence of the tragedy and the ending that's filled with grief instead of triumph makes this movie strangely immune to the sappiness of most rock movies. Excellent performances by Lou Diamond Phillips and Los Lobos mean that it's a film you can see more than once.
Walk Hard will probably kill the genre: no one will be able to look at most music movies with a straight face again, but La Bamba will survive.
Lynn Hoffman author of the very uncliched bang BANG: A Novel
