Prey For Rock & Roll was a film I really didn't expect to like. Being a musician I've found most films about the rock world lacking in authenticity for one reason or another. Prey For Rock & Roll on the other hand is a film about a struggling all-girl bar band that rings true due mostly to a cast that can actually play their instruments, sing and for the most part act. The film is anchored by a winningly strong turn by Gina Gershon who pouts and growls like a beleaguered Chrissie Hynde. Gershon is pushing forty and increasingly torn between her love of playing and her realization that the likelihood of her making her rock and roll dreams come true is not so good.

Also pulling her weight is the missing-in-action Lori Petty who plays a lesbian guitarist by night and frustrated guitar instructor by day. Petty, was something of the "it" girl in her day (A League of Their Own, Break Point) but fell off the map when Tank Girl tanked. She is convincing as a woman in love with her guitar as well as the band's drummer played by Shelly Cole. The band (a garage outfit called Clam Daddy - think the Pretenders meets the Runaways) is rounded out by the troubled Drea de Matteo of The Sopranos whose substance abuse and boyfriend problems are a constant threat to the welfare of the group.

Prey For Rock and Roll is directed by video veteran Alex Steyermark, but the movie has none of the slickness one associates with those rock 'n' roll business cards. In fact the best thing about the film is it's down and dirty realism and the fact that it deals mostly with the tawdry lifestyle of the LA music scene and the difficulty of maintaining friendships in the vacuum of a band situation. Cheri Lovedog, who once fronted the band Lovedog, cowrote the script based on the off-off-Broadway play she wrote between customers at her Santa Cruz tattoo parlor.

As such it's definitely fair to assume that Gershon's character, who also happens to be a tattoo artist, is based at least in part on the writer, and that the film's story of a rocker nearing middle age still struggling to land a record deal, is inspired by her own experiences. Gershon plays the leader of the band with a good combination of wry, world-weariness and optimism and strength. Her performance carries the film even when the story meanders into melodramatic and more cliched waters.

Prey For Rock & Roll is by no means a flawless film and some will find it dreary and dull at times, but with it's authentic look at what it takes to keep on keepin' on, in the face of fading dreams and heartbreaking setbacks, I found it a more satisfying film than the similarly themed Laurel Canyon.