Still rocking to Crowe's 'Singles' 25 years later with this old-school movie review

From left, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, Matt Dillon, Sheila Kelley, Bridget Fonda and Jim True.
(Warner Bros. publicity photo from the TSHIT collection)

Holy crap, it's been nearly 25 years.

On Sept. 18, 1992, Cameron Crowe's "Singles" was released and our own Cat Rose reviewed the movie for Andy's old newspaper, the Los Altos Town Crier. Cat penned her piece on her typewriter in Hollywood, faxed it to Andy in northern California and then it appeared in print on Sept. 23.

We dug the following review out of our Seattle garage this morning and now unveil it digitally for the first time.

So, pull out your box of Sub Pop singles -- Cat was a member of the club, by the way -- leaf through your gig ticket stubs and slip on an old tattered Tad T-shirt while you dig into this blast from the past.

Thanks to John Richards of KEXP for noting the 25th anniversary of "Singles" and spinning Paul Westerberg's tune from the soundtrack, "Waiting for Somebody," the other day.


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Crowe hits the right chords in 'Singles'

Cameron Crowe, writer of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and writer-director of "Say Anything," has done it again. If you liked those flicks, you'll be sure to enjoy his new project, "Singles," in which he uniquely blends the pain in everyday life with realistic comic relief.

"Singles" is a romantic comedy that explores the lives of a group of young adults living in the underground, or, as I should now call it, the overground Seattle music scene. The movie shows how much music is a part of the characters' lives, how it affects their moods and decisions and helps them escape from or stand up to a certain problem or situation.

The name of the film itself -- besides the characters living in a "singles" apartment complex -- leaves the obvious connotations of Seattle's grunge genre and Sub Pop records. For music fans, there are many little surprise appearances by some of your most loved "stars": Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, the boys of Pearl Jam (although when the movie was made, they were calling themselves Mookie Blaylock), Sub Pop mogul Bruce Pavitt and live clips of Alice In Chains and Soundgarden.

The cast includes Matt Dillon (the lead singer of Citizen Dick), Bridget Fonda, Kyra Sedgwick,  Campbell Scott, Sheila Kelley and Jim True. From the lighthearted beginnings of their relationships to the painful emotional struggles, "Singles" will surely strike home with viewers, especially those under 30.

PS: Paul Westerberg (of Replacements fame), Cornell and Crowe provide the musical score. Their work, plus the 11 songs on the soundtrack, makes the music candy for the ears. The soundtrack hosts a wide variety of tunes and artists, from Mudhoney to the Screaming Trees to the Lovemongers (Heart in disguise).

The little Town Crier guy approves!

Screen shot from the movie of a Citizen Dick review.

Dillon and Fonda. (Warner Bros. publicity photo from the TSHIT collection)