What is the
definition of a rock star? Is it someone
who plays music that people want to hear? Or is it someone that lives the rock
and roll lifestyle? This is the eternal
dilemma for Johnny Windows.
Johnny (Cem Pakiry-Turgut) is a rocker from
Kentish Town desperately trying to write a song with his bandmate Scott Free (John Glynn), a horny drug-fuelled
dubstep producer. They are temporarily
reeling from the loss of their loser frontman Brent (Piers Robinson) who has been poached by egomaniac faux-talent scout
Hilton Constellation (Patrick Koupland).
The one person
who does believe in Johnny is documentary filmmaker Reni Mint (Sureni Kay), whose film we are watching
as Johnny’s new band Phantom Power prepare for the Kentish Kreep, a grimy
festival that they’ve managed to secure the headline slot. Johnny has to figure out the direction of his
band that will appease his traditional-song-writing dad Jackie (Joey Montana) and his
sonic-representation-of-modern-broken-Britain electronic Scott.
The story is
split into 7 chapters, one per day in the run up to the festival, and you can
tell the trajectory of the narrative by the titles – Verse, Chorus, Breakdown,
Solo, Chorus – obviously there are ups and downs on the way to the gig…
The film
combines musical interludes similar to Flight
of the Conchords with the campy cockney of Lock Stock and two Smoking Barrels, all set on the streets of dirty
hipster Kentish Town. The characters are
funny, the locations are funny, and the dialogue is funny yet the musical
moments hold it all together by actually being quite touching. There is a moment where Johnny and Jackie sit
down to play guitar together that actually feels poignant, before it descends
into humour as it’s apparent that Johnny the rocker can’t solo…
The target
audience for the film is definitely the type of Londoner who can understand the
nuance of jokes about Kentish Town, Luton and Shepherds Bush – but if you’re in
the North London bubble then for 52 minutes Johnny Windows will be your new
favourite loser.
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