User reviews

Well, what can I say... it was well acted, good story, good pace, music was amazing... it was a great bio-pic. Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman were amazing as a team and this movie portrayed Meat's and their story greatly. Good show.

What a great film. Absolutely fantastic.

That's it. That's the review. But since I need more here I'll just say, if this story were ever taken on by a major studio with a real budget it would be an Oscar contender in so many categories. But somehow that wouldn't be right... It's perfect just the way it is.

This docudrama starts with MeatLoaf (W. Earl Brown) as a kid growing up in Dallas 1958. He's a fat kid with a sick mother and a drunken abusive father. He's bullied by the school kids. He played high school football, and got into drama. He strikes out for Hollywood after the death of his mother eventually connecting with composer Jim Steinman (Zachary Throne) and future wife Leslie Edmonds (Dedee Pfeiffer). But old demons continue to haunt him.

I wouldn't say this is good drama. There are highlights, and the movie is checking off one highlight after another. There is even a 'The Voice' moment as Jim Steinman turns around and shockingly finds the chubby man with the Wagner voice. Brown does a great job impersonating MeatLoaf. I'm sure he got the job for his striking resemblance but they got a great actor to boot. He's the only one saving this from being a hopelessly bland docudrama.

I am a massive Meat Loaf fan (all his records and movies) , and I think the documentary was OK. But there we're quite a few glitchs ; Meat Loaf did not go to acting college in 1968 , he went to be an accountant in 1966 (Meat Loaf was singing in local bands in LA in 68'!) , Meat Loaf didn't meet Jim Steinman until 1973 , and during "Hair" Meat Loaf wasn't going out with any girl named Aaron (however , he did meet Stoney in the play , and record a record with her). And to top that off , Meat Loaf didn't cut his hair short until late 96'/97' , the film shows Meat Loaf in 1994 with short hair . But the acting was top notch , all of the live performances and background songs we're Meat Loaf's vocals (except the "More Than You Deserve" tryout , and in the record company office) the show was OK and depicts what Meat Loaf went through in his career.

PS. did I mention that Meat Loaf was actually married in 1979' ? and Meat Loaf didn't begin the big American bar tour until 1987 ?

I thought this was starring Meatloaf and a conglomeration of Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate. It isn't but it's still worth the watch. Just read W Earl Brown's self written bio on IMDb; the intro is very clever/funny. A friendly 7/10, a strict 6/10. I keep going back and forth between ratings because W Earl Brown does such a good job in this role that he saves the movie when it starts to lag. Currently in the middle of the scene where Meatloaf gets married. Mind blowing stuff right there. I also thought Zachary Throne was a weird version of Zach Braff for a moment. Strange how movies from the year 2000 can have the grainiest of quality. They become instant Ted Turner classics in this way. Overall, it may be as entertaining as La Bamba as far as rock-n-roll biopics are concerned.

This is an enjoyable film for Meat Loaf fans. Song clips, in some cases entire songs are included from both Bat Out of Hell I & II as well as a film clip from Rocky Horror.

I was really surprised how accurate this movie is. Most biographical movies are time-warped (people and places out of place & time) but this one sticks to the truth in almost all cases.

If you enjoy Meat Loaf music, I recommend this movie. It will give you some interesting insights into some of the songs Jim Steinman wrote for him. If you want to know more about the man, I don't think you will find a more accurate portrayal anywhere. I also recommend you see the VH1 "Behind the Music" biography on Meat Loaf -- it lets his wife, children, Jim Steinman and others get their side in too.

Forgive me for the lame summary, but it was all I could think of. First, let me give a BIG standing "O" to W. Earl Brown who plays Meat like a man possessed. This guy is a fantastic actor and I say that because I didn't know that this was the SAME guy who played "Warren" (Mary's "special" brother) in There's Something About Mary. He also was "Kenny" the doomed cameraman in Scream!

I don't want to over do it with the praise, but when you can't recognize an actor from role to role, you KNOW he's good. As for the movie, all I can say is that I wish there was more to it. It was good, but it actually leaves you with more questions than it answers. To be honest, the VH1 Behind the Music gave more info. This appears to be a pattern with the VH1 bio-pics...

I recommend this movie based on 2 things, the performance of W. Earl Brown (Deedee Pfieffer is great, too) and the great music of Meat Loaf that is featured throughout the show.

On behalf of all REAL Meat Loaf fans far and wide, Let me just say...BRAVO. From Hell and Back ....more like from heaven ?...and back. Bat out of hell?....more like bat out of well....done! Congratulations to Jim Mcbride on genius directing, the man has such a vision. I have never been so taken aback by a biography. This is clearly not a rockumentary, however it is a very accurate and entertaining depiction of Meat Loaf's wonderful life as an immensely talented fat man. This movie was heart felt, touching, I cried, I laughed, I was scared, I farted a little. excuse me. Not have I been so excited about a movie since the 2001 when the biopic "Salt and Peppa: Puh Push it Real Good" came out.

Poor production values, poor acting, and a poor script can do nothing for the success story of Meat Loaf. In recent interviews, Meat has made statements to the effect that he didn't know WHAT he had put on tape, until Rundgren came on the scene and did his production wizardry...here we have Todd's role reduced to saying something like "More motorcycle sounds!" two or three times. By the time his story is run through THIS blender, it comes out more like strained prunes than Meat Loaf!

If you have seen the "Behind the Music" type things on Meat Loaf, there was not much surprise here, but it was a good show. The music spanned years, and is as good now as it was then. The acting was better than I expected, and there was nothing about the story that seemed completely blown out of proportion. If you like Meat Loaf, I recommend catching it the next time it is on.

Meat Loaf is by far the greatest rock star of the 1970s 80s 90s and beyond. This movie is based on his Autobiography of the same name. Although currently available on vhs format VH1 and Paramount Pictures are bound to give in to the demand for DVD format featuring all the promotional extras that went with it. This movie is good but as I stated in my headline summary it is mixed up in some parts. Certain people places and things did or did not happen. One piece of the book I wished they had filmed was Meat Loaf driving through Arizona to California during the mid to late 1960's and picks up a hippie drifter on the highway. It turns out in the book that Meat Loaf wound up giving a ride to Charles Manson. I don't know how fans of Meat Loaf would have taken it but it would have been one of those shock moments in Meat Loafs' life where everyone would have gone WHOOOOOAAAA dude that was unreal.

As a big fan of ml, this is just blasphemy. mediocre acting, directing and writing. With the actual story, the screenplay would write itself, not at all satisfying. There is so much to do with the original story. Even if you find the book a light, which it is, including stories of Jim Steinman and Popovich (which that itself would make a great story - read http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/tv-film/6070293/the- brutal-35-year-war-between-sony-stephen-popovich-meat-loaf). This is just not worth it. I think that someone like Meat Loaf would deserve a better biography, better storytelling, everything. Especially if you can see how sloppy everything in this movie was, including actual life facts that fans know by heart. I have been looking for this movie for years and it definitely wasn't worth the effort

When I saw the premiere of this movie, I didn't know who Meat Loaf was. But now I am a big fan. All of the actors looked like there real life counter-parts and where very good actors. I couldn't believe that the actor was lip-syncing some of the scenes. Believe me, the scenes that he did sing live sounded just like Meat Loaf. The only down side was that they had the character of Meat Loaf sing "Objects in the Rear View Mirror" 13 years before it came out. But if you brush that aside you really have an enjoyable movie on your hands.

Don't get my wrong, Im a hard core Meat Loaf fan, but this attempt at a success story was an abomination to him & Jim Stienman. Gee, where should I begin? The publicity lies & exaggerations, the acting was mediocre, he looked nothing' like Meat loaf, except he was the correct weight, he could'not act like him worth a bucket of cat crap, 1 of the only correct things here was that he could talk like him. The dude who played Jim, sucked hairy crack, too. Why does not it surprise me that he does not look NE thing like him? They did not even get the hair right, the acting', & don't forget the misinterpretation of his persona, just like with Meat Loaf. The filming' was ghetto, the lip-syncing' was painfully visible, they jacked up & tweaked the personal life stuff with bull crap, there was no freaking' indication of mystery, which he & Stienman are the epitome of, not even a smidgen. Therez more screwed up, typical film goofs, & other sloppy B-movie type crap to point out, but lets just say all I can sum it up with, it was the epitome of all that screws up films, especially biographical dramas.Why do so many other Meat Loaf fans love this pile of crap? I mean, I could go on like 5 pages, of reasons it sucked!! Oh, yeah, 1 last thing I gotta get off my chest........Did VH1 even try to get this to work, & give it some effort n' rock n' roll Meat Loaf aura? Meat Loaf is God, & he deserves a better tribute n' commemoration to his success than this lame product of a group of wannabes n'losers.Meat Loaf & Stieman are probably saying'to themselves........LMFAO!!!!!.......I agree, apparently, LOL

Winced when I read it wasn't Meat portraying the role but as the story unfolded Brown really was convincing in the role. I read people winging about finicky things being wrong. Didn't really see them myself. Been a big fan for over sixteen years since a chance concert in 1990, which I might add, was the best live gig I've ever seen. Read a lot about his life and events of his past and I think this movie with a cracking cast (watch out for the cameo in the supermarket, Amanda Aday, Meat's real daughter), told a nice, easy to watch story. There are some genuinely touching moments in it too. As others have said, this is right up there with 'What's Love Got To Do With It'. Story never dragged like it could very easily have. Fans would do well to give this a look.

I just watched the movie on VH1, and toward the very end of the movie, I thought I saw Meatloaf himself in the audience at the Cancer benefit. Were my eyes deceiving me, or did he have a brief cameo in the movie? All in all, I thought it was a good show. Granted, I did notice the mountains in the background in "Dallas County", and wondered at certain lines in the movie (re: Rocky Horror- "Nobody will watch this, they'll only throw things at the screen"), but since I've been a meatloaf fan since "BOH" #1 came out, the minor flaws and the little extras were just that, minor, and didn't distract from the main story enough to ruin the movie.

where do i start? i love meat loaf, i love his music, i love his acting career. but vh1 has let me as well as SEVERAL meat loaf fans down with this flop. first off, there are more albums then bat out of hell 1 and 2, which the movie seemed to have forgotten. and when an attempt was made to mention his dead ringer album in the studio, they got the lyrics wrong for peel out. their time line was way off, why was objects in the rearview mirror playing 13 years chronologically before it was actually released? vh1 took TOO many liberties in creating this movie and any redeemable moments were few and far between. i think that the actor playing meat loaf was a good actor, but come on, let's not slap a long haired wig on a big guy and call him meat loaf. meat loaf himself and his production company had nothing to do with this there are several inaccuracies and i dont think the creators of this c**p should have even touched the mother issue let alone interpret it the way they did. if you are a fleeting fan, go ahead, watch this movie. if you are a real fan then you will weep inconsolably.