Bruce Springsteen is rarely less than successful.
Forget his two bestselling dozen albums, and sold out concert tours in stadiums and arenas all over the world, his top hits still in rotation all the time.
Bruce has also had a bestselling memoir, and a sold out run of a hit Broadway show. He’s won Oscars for his songs, not to mention Grammys.
So it must be odd for him to see the movie based on a chapter of his life collapse at the box office.
Scott Cooper’s “Deliver Me from Nowhere” should have been a hit. Jeremy Allen White, a star from “The Bear,” playing Springsteen as a young man. Oscar nominee, Tony winner Jeremy Strong as Bruce’s manager, Jon Landau. Cooper, who directed Jeff Bridges to an Oscar in “Crazy Hearts”: On paper, “Deliver Me” seemed like it would be huge. What could go wrong?
Everything. Critics who were not avowed Springsteen lovers didn’t like it. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 59% rating. The movie addresses the making of Bruce’s “Nebraska” album in 1982. Bruce is depressed, agonizing over his next step. He’s going to make “Born in the USA,” but first he has to go through this creative catharsis.
A lot of the movie is Bruce brooding, retracing his life, having a therapy session. It’s not the wild, the innocent, and the E street shuffle. Nor is it Greetings from Asbury Park. It’s more who should I be now?
In the end, very little is delivered no matter how much Cooper tries to craft a beginning, middle, and up beat end.
The result is that the box office is $16.6 million in the US, $30.8 million worldwide. It may never hit $18 million in the US. “Deliver Me” cost $55 million.
It cost more than that. Everyone involved invested their heart and soul. Bruce has made countless appearances supporting it around the world. He’s been very Bruce, a total mensch.
“Nebraska” was not a hit in 1982, and few are nostalgic for it. A movie about “The Rising” — that would have been really interesting. A movie about Bruce falling in love with Patti Scialfa — okay. Anything about the making of the first three albums. “Nebraska” — acoustic, Dylanish, interior. No Clarence Clemons. It just didn’t work.
“Deliver Me” will still pick up some action from the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes. Its Oscar chances are fairly diminished, unfortunately. It may have a good life on streaming and on DVD.
Meantime, there’s an irony here. The original “Nebraska” album is number 13 on iTunes and 63 on amazon. Not bad. But the expanded box set, with the special “Electric Nebraska,” hasn’t caught on. It should have, and I don’t know why it didn’t. But it came right after the “Tracks II” box set, and that may have stretched budgets.
Try and see “Deliver Me from Nowhere” before it’s out of theaters. I loved it, but I wanted to. You may want to, also.
