Blinding by the Light: Awed by the music

Summer 2019 may not be the summer of peace & love. But at the multiplex, it is the summer of music. "Blinded...," now in theaters, which is based on a true story of a Pakistani teen living in England who becomes a Bruce Springsteen uber-fan, is just the latest.

It follows Rocketman (Elton John) reviewed below; Yesterday, a fantasy involving the Beatles and lost memories; Echo in the Canyon, a doc about mid-60s rockers (The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield) who lived in Laurel Canyon, California; Rolling Thunder Review, Martin Scorsese's doc of a 1975 Bob Dylan tour: and David Crosby: Remember my name.

The Movie Slut loved them all. But back to "Blinded..." This exuberant flick has the good sense to depart from reality in the service of creativity. It includes musical song & dance numbers right out of an old-time Hollywood movie. Best of all, it shows how and why the Boss and his music, which could be called quintessentially American, appealed to this Pakistani kid living in Luton, England.