Indie Film Library Review by Jack Benjamin

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Overall grade: 

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Jack Tempchin, also known as Midnight Jack, is a successful song-writer based in California. His emergent career saw him pen multiple songs for The Eagles in the 1970s, including Peaceful Easy Feeling. He also wrote solo-hits for Glenn Frey and Johnny Rivers, and collaborated with Tom Waits on an early live song, Tijuana.

Midnight Jack: The Movie sees director and fellow songwriter Gregory Page pull together musical clips from the years since, and combine them with lengthy segments of Jack addressing a camera at different points of his career. But while you might assume that the things I just told you were facts which came from the film, inserted by Page to tie an otherwise disparate collection of archival clips together to form a linear narrative, that is not the case.

If you don’t already know who Midnight Jack is (and I had no clue), you’ll need to research him in your own time. In my case, that meant finding his Spotify artists profile, which is much more extensive than his slightly sparse Wikipedia entry. The only information he willingly gives up is that his nickname emerged because he’s “seen every midnight for about the last 34 years”. So, in a cinema, without access to a pause button, or a device with the internet, you will most likely be marooned with a man you have never heard of, hurling long, unrefined metaphors your way, and expecting you to dig out any nuggets of truth for yourself.

That will probably be too much of an ask for many viewers (even more so because the monologues are often web-cam footage, delivered in front of jarring CGI backdrops, while the empty studio is conspicuously reflected in Jack’s aviators). The appearance of a musical documentary will have primed them to expect a certain degree of support from the filmmakers that never manifests.

With footage walking us through some very young images of black-bearded Jack to the white-haired man he is today, viewers might feel primed for a conventional life-time documentary, walking through Jack’s early life, recalling how he moved from Ohio to California to chase his dreams, and imparting stories of the lean times before the good ones began to roll. Alternatively, as Midnight Jack: The Movie also resembles a concert-film, breaking away to show a variety of musical performances, they might expect there to be more of the artist discussing the songs on display – what they mean to him, what inspired their composition, how they might correspond to a period of his life – like Bruce Springsteen’s Western Stars. Or, as so much of this hinges on the editorial prowess of Page – working with footage captured by somebody else, with a totally different artistic vision – audiences might have expected something like Peter Jackson’s Get Back, using the musical subject as a platform for a meditation on the artistic process of filmmaking.

In the end, we get none of those. But ultimately, I don’t care. It’s time to stop talking about this film for what it isn’t, and focus on what it is.

Jack evidently doesn’t want to talk about where he came from, or the illustrious friends he made along the way. Instead, as he reaches his twilight years, he seems more interested with presenting a final reflection of a life philosophy that has helped him live well, and might do the same for you. Both Midnight Jack and his director Page deserve credit for that – and for absolutely living up to the mission statement attached to this project: Science has proven that sometimes in a web of profound stupidity there is an unexpected emergent by product of Truth!

Presented as a parody of the snake-oil salesmen that still proliferate the media landscape, Midnight Jack’s recurring character offers an unseen group of listeners overtly ridiculous products which “science has proven” to help unlock the ‘secrets to happiness and luck’ (including a ‘Midnight Jack Doll’ which is really just a cuddly-toy rabbit that’s had shades grafted to its face) for a “low, low price”, before prying and pointed sentences begin to prod at the audience’s subconscious.

Before the edit rips into another of Midnight Jack’s anthemic or thought-provoking songs (Waiting and It’s What I’ve Got provide notable high-points), the advisory stories usually end up converging around points which encourage us to cut ourselves some slack. Life is hard, but it doesn’t get easier if we let our super-ego nag away at every little mistake we make, as if it was that one that would have suddenly seen the stars align for us to become multi-millionaires. Try to make the most of the time you have, and be as happy as you can. He asserts time and again that amid a nonsensical universe where nothing is forever, “That’s the point, isn’t it?”

It might seem obvious – and easier said than done. Undoubtedly, your inner cynic has already chimed in “well if I had spent my life in California writing songs for The Eagles, I’d probably have a happier disposition too.” But even if you did live that kind of life, there’s still a very good chance you’d end up one miserable old bastard, unless you learned not to take yourself so damned seriously. Especially as mortality gradually creeps up on you, and you realise that one way or another, that wealth and fame you accrued can’t prevent the steady march of oblivion. In 200 years (or substantially less for most of us), nobody will remember you. But if you can enjoy the happiness you inspire in others – knowing that’s happiness they might pass down through the generations – maybe you can make peace with that. In the meantime, channel those negative feelings into something constructive. Write a song. Have some ice-cream. Sing a stupid nursery rhyme about faecal matter. Wear sunglasses indoors. Whatever works for you.

Midnight Jack: The Movie is a deliberately strange, disjointed magazine show, which churns and undermines the narratives it presents us with. In another context, that would be a problem, but here the overriding message seems to be that life’s more fun if you take yourself less seriously. I can try to explain why I liked this film – I have tried to explain why I like a lot of films over the years – but the longer I do it for, the more pompous and conflated I end up sounding. Sometimes I need to just shut my mouth, and enjoy the ride.

And after all, that’s the point. Isn’t it?

 

 

 

Press Release:

RIAA DIAMOND SONGWRITER JACK TEMPCHIN) SET TO PREMIERE NEW FILM

‘MIDNIGHT JACK THE MOVIE’ ON JUNE 20TH AT LAEMMLE ROYAL CINEMA

 

Don't miss the LA premiere of an IndieFEST Film Awards Winner starring the celebrated Songwriter Hall Of Fame member. This is a unique opportunity to experience the film's mysterious glory.

 

JUNE 20th, 2024 - (LOS ANGELES, CA) - San Diego-based songwriter and creative Jack Tempchin has made his film debut with Midnight Jack The Movie. Written by Jack Tempchin and directed by Gregory Page, the film takes viewers on a journey through a world of dreams and memories with a pleasure-hungry seeker of the truth. This unique film can be described as an artist’s “anti-documentary”, and instead invites viewers to dive directly into Tempchin’s creative mind by knitting together his creative wit, humor, and philosophy, all while weaving in many of his iconic performances from over the years. Come get to know Jack at the Los Angeles premiere of the film on June 20th at Laemmle Royal Cinema in West Hollywood, California.

 

"An Amazing Film.

Midnight Jack the Movie is a masterclass in songwriting and life." ~ Jason Mraz

 

Midnight Jack stars Jack Tempchin, and he wants viewers to know this isn’t an average film premiere. The June 20th unveiling is a chance to connect with the creators, Jack and director Gregory Page, in person. We promise they don’t bite, and the intimate screening will give viewers a chance to shake hands and thank Tempchin and Page for broadening their worldview. Dare we say, viewers will not only walk away with Tempchin’s music in their heads but also with witty, carefully delivered sets of thoughts that could even change lives. So be prepared to recalibrate your worldview, potentially fostering a rapturous and fortuitous disposition. In other words, prepare to have your mind expanded!

 

Tempchin is widely known in the music industry for writing hits like "Peaceful Easy Feeling"  and “Already Gone” by the Eagles. He also co-wrote ten Billboard Top 40 hits with Glenn Frey, which Glenn recorded during his solo career, including “You Belong to the City” and “Smugglers Blues.” He has had many other songs recorded by artists such as George Jones, Johnny Rivers, Emmylou Harris, Glen Campbell, Tom Rush, and many others.

 

In 2019, he was inducted into the Songwriter Hall of Fame along with Cat Stevens and Tom T. Hall. As a solo artist, he has found success in record sales and extensive touring with legendary artists like Ringo Starr, Jackson Browne, Dolly Parton, Chicago, Kenny Loggins, and more. Midnight Jack The Movie is the prime opportunity for fans and film lovers to get to know the man behind the guitar. Purchase tickets here.

 

When - June 20th, 2024

Where - Laemmle Royal Cinema

Address - 11523 Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025

Time - 7 pm PST
Cost - $16 General - $13 Senior/Child/Military

Tickets - https://www.laemmle.com/film/midnight-jack 

Film Length - 90 mins

Movie Website - https://www.midnightjackthemovie.com/ 

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