Prey For Rock & Roll, the film version of Cheri Lovedog's autobiographical play, stars Gina Gershon as Jacki, a 40 year old vocalist for all girl rock band Clam Dandy. Clam Dandy is still slugging it out on club stages in L.A. after years of striving for music industry success. Jacki works as a tattoo artist to pay the bills and mulls her fate. Is it better to be a 40 year old rocker still chasing her dream, or retire to a more respectable life? Jacki's long-suffering bandmates are Faith(Lori Petty, of Tank Girl and A League of Their Own) as the elder lesbian/guitar teacher, Sally (Shelly Cole) as Faith's 20 something lover and the band's drummer, and Drea De Matteo of The Sopranos as Tracy, the group's bass player, a trust fund kid and Clam Dandy's lone heterosexual. What may be the band's big break occurs when Jacki receives a phone call from Chuck (Eddie Driscoll), a lowlife club promoter about a concert showcase and the possibility of a recording contract. Excited over the potential big break, Jacki's girlfriend breaks up with her on the spot after Jacki's music career once again takes precedence over one of their lovemaking sessions.
One night, the girls come home after a gig to find that Sally's brother, Animal (Marc Blucas) has been released from jail. Of course, the reason he was incarcerated is not revealed for awhile to further tensions. Jacki at first seems repulsed by Animal, but from the start it's obvious what's going to transpire. Meanwhile, we met Tracy's boyfriend (Ivan Martin) a class A-1 creep, possible drug addict and worse.
Prey For Rock & Roll is a good example of a film where the performances transcend a melodramatic script plagued by stereotypes. Every heterosexual man in the film, save for Animal, is a creep, and the sheer number of tragedies endured during the course of the film is ridiculously high even for Hollywood rocker chicks. I rather enjoyed Jacki's voice-over as she comments, sometimes poignantly, but more often than not, humorously, on the surreal rock 'n' roll ride. The scenes with Petty and one of her guitar students, known only as "Punk Rock Girl" are particularly amusing, and De Matteo brings empathy and texture to her drugged-out rich girl character.
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