MOVIE REVIEW - Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story by Mark E. Waterbury You had to figure it would only be a matter of time before someone did a movie dramatization of the amazing story of one of rock's most successful bands Def Leppard. The triumph over adversity lineage of this fivesome that escaped the gritty industrial town of Sheffield, England is the kind of storybook set up that you would think a lot of producers and directors would wet their pants over. When a movie finally did get made, airing on VH1 of course, the dramatized story of the first eight years of The Lep's existence was told in an uneven but reasonably enjoyable way. The movie titled 'Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story' focuses on the climb of the band and the epochal moments after their huge success with the album 'Pyromania', its subsequent tour with the main focal points on the accident causing the loss of drummer Rick Allen's left arm and the affect on the band's recording efforts of guitarist Steve Clark's burgeoning drinking problem. The movie begins with the kind of 'flash-forward' history trick showing Allen and his girlfriend racing through the English countryside in his Corvette, listening to a Def Leppard song of course, snorting coke, and playing cat-and-mouse with another car which eventually leads to the Vette flipping and ending up a smoking, mangled heap in a peaceful pasture. We know the result of that wreck but will not see it until later, as the movie flashes back for a quick jaunt through the band's formative era, the story's pace probably dictated by the ninety minute running time. The early moments take place in a Sheffield that did not appear nearly as dismal or gritty as it is reputed to be. OK, my expectations may be a tad high on that because when I think of gritty steel towns in the movies I think of 'The Deerhunter', but I can forgive the hometown atmosphere faux pas. As the movie goes on, I found that the most effective scenes were those involving the interplay of the band members in certain conflicts and emotional situations, giving a reasonable glimpse at the friendships that kept the band intact through turmoil and tragedy. But the concert scenes, albeit somewhat well-mimicked and synched by the young unknown actors playing the band members, gave too glossy an appearance with too many effects used in music videos that gave the scenes a, well, video feel, instead of a representation of actual live concerts that had occurred. When compared to concert scenes in movies like 'The Doors' or even 'This Is Spinal Tap', there was not much reality to the live scenes in 'Hysteria', although one high point for anyone who has been a fan of Def Leppard since the beginning is the usage of several songs from the debut 'On Through The Night' album. In fact, more songs were used in the movie from this effort then from the mega-hits 'Pyromania' and 'Hysteria combined. The dramatic scenes definitely were the glue that held the story together. Your average Def Leppard fan, myself being one, have seen enough concerts and live videos anyway, but seeing the band's off the stage stories come to life seemed to be the main focus of this movie. There were scenes that were well-crafted enough to garner pathos as you see Rick Allen standing dazed in an English field with a bloody stump where his left arm was. Or watching the beginning of the downward spiral into depression and alcoholism of guitarist Steve Clark. The alcohol problems were well told in this movie, from the removal of original guitarist Pete Willis due to his drinking, to the cleaning up of his replacement Phil Collen, who eventually became Clark's drinking buddy after joining the band. A scene of debauchery backstage after a concert on their breakthrough 'Pyromania' tour was a bit excessive and almost too cliche, but chances are that it may also have been reasonably representative. There were warm moments as well, from the happiness the band achieves as production guru Mutt Lange takes their sound to new levels, or the support Allen receives from his family and band mates after his accident. Add to this little doses of humor and you can really get a feel of what director Robert Mandel was attempting to do: show how friendship and the heart of this band made them endure. This human part of the story (although it has been told in many other avenues) is the one that is more compelling than the technical parts of the band's success that were spottily represented. The cast that played the band members were for the most part adequate. Probably the best turn was from Karl Geary, who's portrayal of the troubled alcoholic guitarist Steve Clark was fairly chilling, even though his accent occasionally lapsed into a Scottish brogue. Tat Walley also did a credible performance as the youthful Rick Allen, who suddenly had to deal with the loss of a necessary tool for a drummer, that being one of his limbs. The part of Mutt Lange was very well played by ex-brat packer Anthony Michael Hall, who also recently played Bill Gates and Whitey Ford in cable movies and seems to have found his niche in character portrayal of real life people. The ensemble of background actors ranged from good to the fifteen minutes of fame types, but they helped give the movie a touch of realism, which is essential in a biopic. Even though the movie ends on a high note, with Rick Allen's triumphant return behind the kit and Def Leppard's first concert in nearly three years, it is a tad bittersweet as you know that Steve Clark will succumb to the ravages of alcohol in another five years. But the band endures, and while the treatment in 'Hysteria' would have perhaps been more thorough if this had been a full-length theatrical release, it succeeds in some measures as an appreciation of what Def Leppard is all about and what they have gone through for their fans and for rock and roll. ****************************************