It's All Gone Pete Tong (2005)

2 Stars (out of 4)

Deaf Jam

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Disguised as a rollicking, pin-wheeling sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll film (or at least a sex, drugs and turntable film), It's All Gone Pete Tong is really just another disease-of-the-week flick. Paul Kaye gives an energetic, willing performance as superstar DJ Frankie Wilde who, after a decade in the club business, loses his hearing. Writer/director Michael Dowse illustrates Frankie's disability with squirm-inducing moments of drowned-out sound, ear-ringing, or absolute silence. The film begins with a plunge through the usual cocaine-and-scotch-fueled music world debauchery. Then Frankie hits bottom, wallows in his misery and seeks help. Fortunately for him, his cute, single lip-reading instructor (Beatriz Batarda) helps him on the road to retribution. For some reason, "It's All Gone Pete Tong" (Cockney rhyming slang for "it's all gone wrong") is presented as a "mockumentary," interrupting itself with occasional comments and interviews from Wilde's contemporaries. But the film is a straightforward fiction, showing scenes that no documentary crew could ever capture. This broad, obvious contradiction adds to a frustrating experience. It's All Gone Pete Tong wants to be rambunctious but also to collect serious credibility as a commentary on social issues. The resulting combination nullifies both.