In a fun little follow up to my movie musical recommendations, here’s some of my favorite movies that aren’t necessarily musicals but instead feature characters who are musicians!
- Starstruck
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Our business manager Kaitlyn told me that I must include this one, but I also really like it. She says, “It’s not a perfect movie but I recommend it anyways: the cliché LA backdrop and celebrity meets regular girl storyline works so well, their bickering will have you almost constantly giggling, and all of the songs are so catchy. It’s definitely a nostalgic classic for me.”
- Hairspray (1988)
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The original Hairspray, which inspired the Broadway production, which then inspired the 2007 remake, this is an absolutely fabulous film. It follows a similar plot to the remake, but with the camp dialed up to a thousand, the emotions more intense and the performances even more beautiful.
- Scott Pilgrim
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Genuinely one of the best movies ever made, I could watch this 100 times over and never get tired of it. The music is perfect, the cast is stellar, and the comedy is unmatched. Stream the “Black Sheep” cover by Brie Larson and your life will be changed for the better.
Editor’s note: this is actually one of my favorite movies of all time, I highly recommend it! – Alison
- Lemonade Mouth
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One of my all-time favorite DCOMs, I think this movie played a crucial role in shaping my brain chemistry. Lives were changed when this came out for real.
- Whiplash
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This movie is as intense, if not more intense, than any action movie I’ve ever watched; it centers around Andrew (Miles Teller), a young drummer who has been taken under the wing of an intense jazz director (J.K. Simmons). Teller gives an insanely good performance here, and so does Simmons, and if you love La La Land you should definitely watch this because the films share a director in Damien Chazelle!
- Popstar Never Stop Stopping
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Andy Samberg is easily one of my top ten favorite celebrities and this is one of his best (and most hilarious) performances. Samberg is playing a Justin Timberlake-like character called Connor4real and the film follows the rise and fall of his solo career after leading his boy band, The Style Boyz. With ultra satire and maximum hilarity, this is an absolute must-watch.
- Pitch Perfect
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My love for this movie knows no bounds. It’s my ultimate comfort movie and has the perfect ending that never fails to make me cry. When given the chance, I will always choose to watch this movie.
- Almost Famous
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Desperately feeling the need for a rewatch of this one, it follows 15-year-old William Miller as he gets an assignment from The Rolling Stone to cover the up-and-coming band Stillwater. This movie is such an incredible look at what fame, celebrity, and love of music really mean.
- Velvet Goldmine
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I just watched this earlier this week for my Gender & Film class and let me tell you I loved it. It’s queer, it’s surreal and it’s a sight to behold, it’s truly a wonder.
- Priscilla
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Okay. Now I know what you’re thinking, but this is still a movie about a musician, just in a very different way than the others. Priscilla is not about Elvis, it’s about Priscilla, but because so much of the film is concerned with the effects the relationship between Elvis and Priscilla had on her, I would still consider this to be a film about a musician, just more tangentially than the others. But I would be remiss to not mention it because I think this film is absolutely incredible and that Sofia Coppola was born to make it.
And before I end, here’s some others that I haven’t seen but I’ve heard great things about:
- Sound of Metal
- Rocketman
- Inside Llweyn Davis
- Amadeus
And that’s it! Happy viewing!