The cinematic mining of the "rock band era" continues apace. This film is a riot of in-jokes and backstage shenanigans that hits the mark delightfully.

Strange Fruit are a soft rock group pursuing a comeback 20 years after a bolt of lightning literally ended their careers in the late 1970s. Stephen Rea is the keyboard player, Tony, who teams up with Karen (Juliet Aubrey), the band's former PA, in the belief that they can persuade the former members to reassemble for a new tour.

Inflated egos and old, unsettled feuds at first seem to make the reunion unlikely, but since everybody involved is broke, accommodations are eventually made.

Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais are responsible for Still Crazy's witty script and Brian Gibson gets credit for insightful direction. "Behind the jokes," says Rea, "the film could be a parable about encroaching middle age." Owen Levy