If you’re a music or documentary enthusiast, and you’ve not yet watched Suzi Q, then you should delight because there’s a lot to love about the movie. Rock ‘n’ Roll lovers in the 60s and 70s can attest to the fact that Suzi Q was a force to reckon with when it came to rocking the guitar.
In this Suzi Q movie review, we will offer you some of the reasons you need to watch the film, its significance in society today, and some things to expect when you relax on your sofa with your bowl of popcorn to watch it.
The closest comparison film to Suzi Q is perhaps Bad Reputation, a tell-tale story about Joan Jett, released in 2018. Featuring Joan Jett, the Suzi Quatro Film can is a shorthand summary that details the life of the pioneering Rock ‘n’ Roll sensation, Susan Quatro. Hailing from Detroit, Suzi Q managed to become a globally-acclaimed music superstar in the 70s, performing in big shows worldwide. The only problem is that she doesn’t receive the same warm reception she would’ve gotten from her fans back at home.
Released on 3 July 2020, Suzi Q is a film by renowned cinematographer and movie director Liam Firmager. While the film offers excellent entertainment, Liam tries to rectify the imbalances experienced by Suzie to demonstrate that women can also pick up instruments and showcase their musical talents in a world dominated by guys. In fact, most female artists expressed how influential Quatro was in spreading that message through her personal experiences.
It’s a global feat for the movie, considering Quatro had a great influence on some of the principal cast, such as Joan Jett, Kathy Valentine, and Debbie Harry. Speaking about the movie, Valentine once pointed out that she’d never seen a woman play an instrument so passionately as Quatro. “My brain exploded when I first saw Suzi on the British TV Show Top of the Pops.”
If you compare Suzi Q and Joan Jett, the two portray two distinct personalities and characters. In the Movie about Quatro Sisters, Suzi herself portrays herself as a female rock ‘n’ roll artist who can balance her personal life off-stage and her life in the limelight. And when she’s off-camera, Suzi brings out the sweet side that enabled her to seamlessly transition from her days as a rocker to the ballads. She even managed to play the leading role of playing the bass as Leather Tuscadero in Happy Days, a three-season TV series that took America by storm during the late 1970s.
The documentary, Suzi Q, shows the typical and true depiction of the natural person. Quatro, who recently celebrated her 70th birthday, is as charming in the movie as she is in real life and takes roles in bookending sets and scenes, adorned in the leather – reminiscent of her days. However, critics would have a lot to say about the movie. She tries to find a balance in satisfying two widely divided generations: her fans, who loved her 50 years ago and the younger generation, who are now accustomed to a different style of rock ‘n’ roll. For instance, the film tries to tell the world that even a female can dominate a world of men, especially n rock music. But that is not uncommon among the millennials because they grew up listening to female rockers.
The movie also highlights some of the social and family issues that Suzi Q faced in her pursuit for success in the rock music industry. At the beginning of the movie, the audience is introduced to Suzi’s life in the 60s when she started singing with her sisters in Detroit under the band name, The Pleasure Seekers. It also documents her difficult times when she had to break away from the band to start her solo career in the UK in 1971. Her fans will relish watching the movie as it has a nostalgic effect when it features Suzi Q’s top rock ‘n’ roll jams like Can the Can, 48 Crash, and Devil Gate Drive. Considering the influence of rock during those good, old days and how the songs paved the way to pop hits that we know today, it’s still mind-gobbling why those tracks weren’t top hits in the American music scene.