La Bamba (1987) Columbia/Drama-Musical RT: 109 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, violence, brief nudity, sexuality, drug content, alcohol abuse) Director: Luis Valdez Screenplay: Luis Valdez Music: Miles Goodman and Carlos Santana Cinematography: Adam Greenberg Release date: July 24, 1987 (US) Cast: Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Danielle von Zerneck, Elizabeth Pena, Joe Pantoliano, Sam Anderson, Maggie Gwinn, Rick Dees, Marshall Crenshaw, Stephen Lee, Brian Setzer, Howard Huntsberry, Jeffrey Alan Chandler, Noble Willingham. Box Office: $54.2M (US)
Rating: ****
February 3, 1959, immortalized in Don McLean’s 1971 hit song “American Pie”, will forever be known as “The Day the Music Died”. En route to a gig in Minnesota on their Winter Dance Party tour, rockers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed when their plane went down in Iowa. It was a huge loss for the music industry and music fans alike. Holly’s story was told in the excellent 1978 biopic The Buddy Holly Story starring a young Gary Busey as the “That’ll Be the Day” singer. Now it’s Valens’ turn with La Bamba, an equally terrific biopic of the singer who had three hits before his life tragically ended at the tender age of 17. He wasn’t even out of high school yet.
Lou Diamond Phillips (Young Guns) plays Valens who we first meet living in a migrant camp with his mother Connie (DeSoto, Stand and Deliver) and younger sisters. This is back when he was just Richard Valenzuela. One day, his older, motorcycle-riding half-brother Bob (Morales, Bad Boys) arrives on the scene to take them away from this life to a slightly better one thanks to the money he makes smuggling weed across the Mexican border. Ritchie, who never goes anywhere without his guitar, is the favored one. He dreams of being a big rock star someday. What he doesn’t know is that his dream is about to come true.
Speaking of dreams, Ritchie is plagued by nightmares of the mid-air plane collision over his old school that killed his best friend. This tragedy was the cause of his intense fear of flying. While presented like a hazy memory (underscored by Santo & Johnny’s “Sleep Walk”), it can also be taken as a premonition of events to come. It’s an effective scene that makes Ritchie’s premature demise resonate even louder.
Ritchie is discovered by music producer Bob Keane (Pantoliano, Risky Business) when he performs at the local American Legion hall, a gig arranged by his mother. He sees great potential in this kid and wants to record him. He’s also the one that came up with his stage name Ritchie Valens. Of course, Ritchie goes on to huge success with his hits “Come On, Let’s Go”, “Donna” and signature song “La Bamba”.
The main drama in La Bamba comes from the contentious relationship between Ritchie and older brother Bob, jealous of his success and the preferential treatment he receives from their mother. He’s angry, often drunk and abusive towards his pregnant girlfriend Rosie (Pena, Down and Out in Beverly Hills) who he stole from Ritchie. Bob discovers he has a knack for drawing and even wins an art contest but nobody seems to care because they’re so focused on Ritchie and his rising career. The movie also depicts his relationship with his girlfriend Donna (Zerneck, My Science Project), a blonde-haired WASP whose bigoted parents don’t approve of her dating a Mexican-American boy. BTW, she’s the obvious inspiration for one of his songs. Guess which one?
The ending of La Bamba is a foregone conclusion. You know Valens’ fate going in. He dies just as his career is taking off (no joke intended). Now you would think this would make for a depressing movie. It’s not. Yes, a pallor of sadness hovers over the proceedings but La Bamba is anything but depressing. It’s anything but. Phillips, in a remarkable debut performance, plays Ritchie as a young man who plays music for the pure joy of it. It helps, of course, that he has loads of natural talent. He’s dedicated to his craft to the point of near-obsession. But that’s not all there is to Ritchie Valens. He’s a serious, introspective and intensely focused young man whose dedication to his family is the primary driving force behind his ambition. He promises his mother to buy her the house of her dreams, a promise you know will be kept.
However, Phillips’ scenes with Morales are the real dramatic backbone of La Bamba. Brotherly relationships can be extremely complicated and messy. It’s amazing how you can love and hate somebody at the same time. Bob, although jealous of what his little brother has, would go the ends of earth for him. He’s supportive when it counts. They even take an impromptu trip to Tijuana together so Ritchie can lose his virginity. Not surprisingly, he’s more interested in the band (Los Lobos who perform Valens’ music for the movie) at the bordello playing the traditional Mexican folk song that serves as the movie’s title. As Bob, Morales oozes anger and volatility, especially when he drinks. He has a dangerous charisma with his leather jacket, moustache and motorcycle. He does a terrific job as does Zerneck as the girlfriend clearly in love, but forced by her narrow-minded dad to end things with Ritchie.
I only have one issue with La Bamba, an otherwise flawless movie. Donna ends things with Ritchie but appears to be back with him a few scenes later. What happened? Did her parents change their minds? Did she tell them to go f*** themselves? I think a word or scene of explanation is in order here. Aside from that small glitch, La Bamba is an outstanding biopic about a rocker who might have gone big time if not for tragic fate.
The music, of course, is phenomenal. And I’m not just talking about Valens’ songs. Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, doing a dead-on impression of Eddie Cochran, does an awesome version of “Summertime Blues”. New Wave rocker Marshall Crenshaw (“Someday, Someway”) does a decent Buddy Holly. Stephen Lee (RoboCop 2) is a bit over the top as The Big Bopper the way he goes around saying “Hello, baby!” to everybody. Written and directed by Luis Valdez (Zoot Suit), La Bamba is a fascinating and energetic biopic that moves to a cool rock-and-roll beat. Now where’s the Big Bopper biopic Chantilly Lace? I’m still waiting.
