The story of how, after meeting Elvis at a young age and later seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Tom Petty became singularly focused on rock 'n' roll, and formed the band Mudcrutch who played throughout the Gainesville, Florida circuit. Driving 3,000 miles to Hollywood, they shopped their demo, scored a record contract, changed their name to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and became a staple headliner for over 30 years of ups and downs. Peter Bogdanovich's Runnin' Down a Dream is an excessively long and rife for parody documentary, almost cheaply and lazily made by mostly editing in concert and music video footage with current interviews. It is still watchable and never boring, while continuously featuring great music and background to an inimitable singer/songwriter.
*** out of ****
