The Gig

Name: The Gig
Genre: Drama
Released: 1985-11-26
Duration: 1 h 32 min
Rating: 7.2
Cast: Wayne Rogers, Cleavon Little, Andrew Duncan

1985
1h 32m

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

200

YOUR RATING

Drama

6 amateur musicians accept an offer to play a 2-week gig in the Catskills. When the bass player suddenly falls ill, they recruit a genuine pro to fill in. As they embark on the opportunity o... Read all6 amateur musicians accept an offer to play a 2-week gig in the Catskills. When the bass player suddenly falls ill, they recruit a genuine pro to fill in. As they embark on the opportunity of a lifetime, dreams and reality begin to collide.6 amateur musicians accept an offer to play a 2-week gig in the Catskills. When the bass player suddenly falls ill, they recruit a genuine pro to fill in. As they embark on the opportunity of a lifetime, dreams and reality begin to collide.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

200

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Warren Vache, who plays trumpeter Gil Macrae, is in real life an accomplished jazz musician with dozens of recordings as both leader and sideman to his credit. His brother Allan is also a well-known professional clarinetist. Their late father, Warren Vache Sr., was a famed jazz bassist and author as well.

Goofs
During the drive to the gig, Marshall Wilson regales the others with his past musical accomplishments. He mentions he played with, among others, jazz legend Charlie Parker. Parker died in 1955, so assuming this film is taking place in the 80's, that means the very youthful looking Wilson would had to have been a very precocious musician 30-plus years prior to have played with Parker.

Quotes
Wilson: It's not religion -- devotion isn't enough.

User reviews9

Review

Featured review

Pretty exceptional little movie on a jazz theme, sort of.

So, a group of middle-age guys who play jazz for a hobby get to live out their dream of playing a professional gig (at a resort hotel), and the dream doesn't turn out like they thought it would.

Doesn't sound like much, but "The Gig" is a movie that sticks with you, because of its understated exploration of the stakes involved in just living a life - failure, hopes, small comforts, friendship, disappointments. The jazz group is the nominal theme, but the film is a character study. Not an academic one - it has the guts (and script) to bleed a little for the characters, and is unconventional in its avoidance of easy tie-ups and crowd-pleasing pay-offs.

An extremely satisfying, heartfelt, well-crafted picture, with performances from Wayne Rogers (TV MASHs 'Trapper John') and Cleavon Little (best known probably as the sheriff in "Blazing Saddles", though he also played a comedy TV doctor in "Temperatures Rising") which suggest they generally didn't get the roles they deserved and were capable of.