Must Go
J. K. Simmons finally gets his Oscar. He has been in a million TV shows and Movies always as a second banana. He always has given a great performance. Playing, Terence Fletcher, he is a perfect douche bag. His verbal abuse of his students reminded me of my father. His berating of Andrew Nieman, Miles Teller, turns him into an unfeeling asshole too. However his 9 minute drum solo at the end of the movie will send you looking for your jazz CDs.
Early in the film, Andrew listens to a CD of Buddy Rich. Buddy Rich was a jazz drummer infamous for his short temper, and he would regularly berate and verbally abuse his band mates for what he considered inferior musicianship.
Fletcher tells Andrew about Charlie Bird getting a cymbal thrown at him by Jo Jones, which is why he went home and practiced came back and played the incredible concert at the Reno.
There are two theories on how Charlie “Yardbird” Parker actually got his name. 1) He lived “free as a bird”. Or the more commonly accepted one, 2) when touring with Jay McShann, they accidentally hit a chicken (a yardbird) with their car and Parker made them stop to pick it up so he could have his landlady cook it for him.
There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job. What a crock! We can inspire people with encouragement too!
Go see this wonderful movie! Or should I say this piece of shxx! movie that anybody could do better.