I've always been a Gary Busey fan since I saw him playing crazed villains in the likes of UNDER SIEGE and LETHAL WEAPON. The guy screams entertainment value, and it's tough to resist his manic charms. So I decided to go back to the beginning, and catch up with a role that helped make his name: as Buddy Holly in THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, a biopic exploring the tragic rock 'n roll star's rise to fame.

It's a thoroughly engaging little movie with a definite 1970s vibe to it, in that actors are given the opportunity to act without flashy direction or editing or special effects getting in the way. Busey dyes his hair black, dons the horn-rimmed glasses and is good to go. Nothing more is needed than that.

The story that plays out is never less than interesting and usually more besides. Of course, there are musical numbers popping up throughout and Busey makes these his own; it feels like it's the kind of role an actor was born to play. That alone would make THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY a decent film, but the strength of the supporting players (mainly Charles Martin Smith and Don Stroud) and the involving storyline are the icing on the cake.

This is a pretty straight forward biopic of rock pioneer Buddy Holly (Gary Busey) starting from as a young man in 1956 Lubbock, Texas. His high school sweetheart Cindy Lou and his parents want him to drop his music and get something steady. All the kids love his music but all the adults are up against it. Before he knows it, his tape gets sent to NYC and they start selling his music before they could even sign him. Then his song got played over and over again by a mad Buffalo DJ.

This has a couple of good actors Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith as well as the best performance ever from Gary Busey. He got nominated for his performance. It's pretty much by the book from director Steve Rash. There is nothing too fancy in the style. It's just great music. The story is simplified for dramatic effects. I doubt anybody really cares as long as the music is that rocking.

I am not aware of the Buddy Holy story ... the real one that is. So I can only rate and review what I saw here. One thing is for sure, if like me you are not so aware of him (not his music, I reckon almost everyone knows that),you will become very interested in his story ... and maybe even do some research. You may even do this before writing a review - unlike someone else (namely me, if you can forgive me after all).

Another thing that is quite interesting here: Gary Busey .. I do not remember when I last watched him in anything where he acted normal ... well normal for his standards. He makes Buddy Holly to be quite the star ... and while most biopics have their main characters have many flaws ... I really have a hard time finding any, let alone many.

An interesting movie to say the least, with a lot of good music (as expected). I can really recommend this.