DENIS LEARY ROCKS He’s a one-man band behind the scenes and stars in terrific comedy
“SEX&Drugs&Rock&Roll” hits all the right notes.
Just as Sir Laurence Olivier was born to play Hamlet, Denis Leary was born to play Johnny Rock, the has-been lead singer of an angry 1980s punk-ish band.
And in case you didn’t think Leary feels the same way, consider that he created the show, writes it, directs it, stars in it and writes all the songs. But he’s also smart enough to make it a story about a band and a family, not one rock lunatic.
We meet Johnny 25 years after his coked-up behavior destroyed the Heathens, a band that could have gone somewhere. Now he’s going nowhere until he meets Gigi (Elizabeth Gillies), the 21-year-old daughter he never knew he had.
Gillies matches Leary riff for riff, and John Corbett fits in equally well as Flash, the Heathens’ guitarist and the one who went on to the greatest success.
Corbett’s got the attitude, and so do the other two members of the Heathens as they reunite to become Gigi’s band. Bobby Kelly plays Bam Bam, the drummer, and John Ales is the bass player, Rehab.
“Sex&Drugs&Rock &Roll” sends up rock ’n’ roll excess and rock band clichés in the spirit of “Spinal Tap,” but with a fresh take and a string of smart one-liners about famous rockers.
The songs aren’t all terrific, but like “Rescue Me” at its best, “S&D&R&R” succeeds both as wild, uncontrolled, absurdist comedy and touching, quiet personal drama.
Leary, Gillies, Corbett and the others turn a cool idea into a hot ticket.
dhinckley@nydailynews.com