Eddie and the Cruisers

At the height of his fame, Eddie Wilson died in a car crash. Or did he? The question, raised in the opening scenes, gives this fictional, nostalgic movie a quirky appeal, suggesting the past may not be dead after all.

Aside from Eddie And The Cruisers' funky structure, the music remains its chief selling point-though Cafferty's songs don't plausibly pass for early 1960s tunes.

Eddie and the Cruisers is a mish-mash of a film, combining elements of the ongoing nostalgia for rock music of previous decades with an unworkable and laughable mystery plotline.

The film's mystery angle regarding the missing tapes is ludicrous, thus making it right at home alongside every other half-witted development in this cheesy undertaking.