Film Review: Rock band walks on “Shakey Grounds”
Drama about down-and-out musicians was shot on gritty streets of Bentonville
By Mickey Mercier
Travis is a rock singer with stringy blond hair, a surly attitude and a drinking problem. He slouches, Marlon Brando-style, on his motorcycle parked in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. He blows a stream of cigarette smoke – which reeks of rebellion even more today.
Eric Nelsen snarls like a trapped ferret as the frontman of a struggling alt-rock band from Bentonville in the new drama Shakey Grounds, now streaming on Apple+ and Amazon Prime. Fans might recall his recurring role on the series 1883 – as Ennis, the grinning cowpoke boyfriend of Elsa Dutton who dies defending her in a gunfight.
Shaky Grounds, released in May, is an entertaining, rough-around-the-edges indie movie about an impoverished rock band named the Cuticles. On the cusp of success, they struggle to retain their grungy roots despite pressure to sell out from recording executives. It’s set in Bentonville and was shot on location there.
Shakey Grounds is the first full-length feature for director Michael Garcia of Miami, best known for his music videos of superstars like Sting and Machine Gun Kelly. The film’s cinematographer, Parris Stewart, is also a music-video specialist.
The skanky Travis doesn’t have a steady girlfriend, but he’s in a complicated arrangement with Mel, played by the Australian actor Ella Cannon (iZombie). She’s the band’s manager who also runs the fictional coffee shop Shakey Grounds. (She inherited the cafe from her father, but doesn’t know why he misspelled the name).
It’s difficult for Mel to manage the band in a businesslike way with Travis involved. He’s chronically late, often inebriated, and rude to everyone. There’s also a suppressed romantic attraction. During a moment of candor, Travis asks Mel why his life is so chaotic. She replies: “You’re not complicated, Travis, you’re just an asshole.” Maybe that’s where love begins.
ROCK AND ROLL SUICIDE
On stage, Travis’s demeanor makes Joan Jett look like a debutante. He plays an electric guitar with a tape-stenciled paint job like Eddie Van Halen’s famous axe “Frankenstein.”
By day, he works in a food truck on A Street. He’s homeless, surrounded by wealth in the successful Northwest Arkansas town. It’s similar to Nelsen’s earlier part on The Affair – as Bram, a druggie surfer who torments series star Joshua Jackson in season four. The dinged Montauk surfboard has been traded for a beat-on EPS Viper guitar.
Worse, Travis’s former bandmate and brother-in-law Steven committed suicide some time ago after consuming drugs supplied by Travis. That tragedy left the band a trio and Travis with a crushing load of guilt. His unreliability risks the loss of the band’s only source of income, a regular gig at a bar in Rogers.
Travis’s scruffy leather-jacketed band isn’t much to look at either, but they can lay down a monster sound. In an interview, director Michael Garcia said he chose to cast professional musicians for the drummer and bassist instead of actors.
Three original songs in the film were produced by the hip-hop group ¡MAYDAY! with member Bernardo Garcia acting the part of Clint the bass player. The Cuticle’s sound is a tasty soup of early rock, grunge and rap. Only three original songs are in the movie, but they alone almost justify seeing it.
Two competing music executives travel to Bentonville to sign the band. One shady producer hands Travis the keys to a new Harley as a pre-signing gift. Band manager Mel, who sports tattooed legs, flirts with another big-city producer (Jonny Danks). She makes him buy a flannel shirt and work boots at the Helping Hands Thrift Store. (Maybe the out-of-town filmmakers didn’t know it, but real Bentonville newcomers have used this tactic for blending in.)
With Travis on the verge of nervous breakdown, the Cuticles are already at risk of breakup when yet another disaster strikes. The band and Mel must deal with a life-altering situation – on the very day of a showcase concert at the Meteor Guitar Gallery.
ON LOCATION - NWA
Shakey Grounds was shot on location in Northwest Arkansas in winter 2023-24. A little snow on the ground lends some grit to Bentonville’s smooth new streets. Most of the actors and production bosses flew in, but the movie employed dozens of trained locals from the growing Arkansas film industry.
Michael Garcia estimated that 80 percent of the labor and craft gigs were filled by technicians from Northwest Arkansas – electricians, grips, carpenters, makeup and hair, drivers, etc. Many locals appear in this movie as extras, especially in the concert scenes.
“The local crews were extremely professional and qualified,” said executive producer Jack Sattin of New Jersey. “In addition to hiring local actor and crew talent, we spent money for such things as hotels, restaurants, rental vehicles, gasoline, real estate sites, groceries and banking.”
The production received nearly $139,000 in tax credits or rebates from the state, according to a published report. That subsidy is low compared to other film projects. However, Sattin said it was “one of the primary reasons we filmed in Arkansas.”
A CHALLENGING FORMULA
The 82-minute runtime of Shakey Grounds is concise (for a change!) but maybe at the expense of the story in this case. A few more scenes might have helped. It would be nice to know more about the other two band members. A flashback could reveal something about the deceased Steven. And some alone time for Mel and Travis might have warmed their tepid chemistry.
In the story by screenwriter Trace Slobotkin, a sub-plot explores Travis’s relationship with estranged niece Lisa (Total Eclipse series star Mackenzie Ziegler). A trust develops as he teaches her to play guitar and rescues her from a risky situation.
In a five-minute cameo, Eric Roberts (Pope of Greenwich Village) portrays a third disreputable music executive. The veteran character actor’s performance is precisely what fans have come to expect.
Movies about fictional rock bands and their struggles are a challenging subgenre for directors. For starters, it demands especially charismatic performers and new, exciting music. Even harder to capture is a rock ’n’ roll spirit that’s fierce and true – but elusive as coolness itself. The Shakey Grounds filmmakers deserve respect for even attempting this.
Memorable successes in the subgenre include 1983’s mysterious Eddie and the Cruisers, Cameron Crowe’s autobiographical Almost Famous and Tom Hanks’ agreeable That Thing You Do. Other attempts floundered, like Michael J. Fox’s meandering Light of Day and the appalling Rock of Ages (2012) with Tom Cruise as a shirtless hair-metal god.
Shakey Grounds sits somewhere in the middle, in the space between a shoestring indie effort and a well-funded mainstream project with proven stars. It aspires to big dramatic and romantic payoffs. It’s a fun though formulaic movie that makes you want to cheer for the underdog band. It has some eye-opening original music and special appeal for rock fans and Arkansas audiences.
Shakey Grounds proves that rock ‘n’ roll rebellion still exists – even on the cold, gritty streets of Bentonville.
Text copyright 2025 by Mickey Mercier