Graham Parker and The Rumor: This Is Live

Judd Apatow is a powerful man in Hollywood. Not only is he responsible for writing, directing, and/or producing many of the industry's most popular comedies, but he can also apparently reunite British rock bands with the snap of his fingers! OK, so that last bit might be a slight exaggeration, but while it ends up that celebrated English rockers Graham Parker and the Rumour had already decided to reunite before 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' director got involved, the filmmaker still managed to use the band's resurgence to his advantage, featuring them in his most recent movie, 'This Is 40.'

In fact, he actually went so far as to film an entire reunion concert, and though fans got snippets of it before, here we get the full show in its entirety. And though it's certainly a solid concert, in an ironic twist, it turns out that the disc suffers from the exact opposite problem that most Apatow productions have to deal with: it's too short and barebones. Crazy, right?

Originally filmed as part of the production for 'This Is 40,' the concert was shot in the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles and features Graham Parker and all five original members of The Rumour -- Bob Andrews, Brinsley Schwarz, Martin Belmont, Andrew Bodnar, and Stephen Goulding -- together again for the first time in 31 years. The band goes through a mixture of classic hits and new tracks from their latest album, "Three Chords Good," including "Fools Gold," "Protection," "Long Emotional Ride," and "Stupefaction."

After a quick intro from actor Paul Rudd, the musicians take to the stage and segue straight into their set list. The rest of the concert mostly follows suit, and though Parker will occasionally address the audience with a few brief quips or introductions, this is essentially a straightforward performance with little fanfare or excess flash. With that said, Apatow directed the concert himself, and the show does benefit from a pleasing, cinematic look. We get the usual assortment of standard angles, including some moving shots, band close-ups, and various crowd POVs, fully covering the action in a visually interesting manner while still placing the emphasis squarely on the music.

Speaking of the music, the band's style is a bit generic, but I warmed up to their approach as the runtime went on, and their style mixes classic rock with some faint punk and new wave sensibilities. Early songs sounded rather similar to each other and failed to stick out. Thankfully, the group hits a solid groove about a third of the way in, leading to a much more involving and memorable string of songs, offering a nice mixture of energetic and slower tempos –- and once Parker pulls out his kazoo, all bets are off!

Likewise, as the concert continues, the musician's wit and sense of humor starts to shine through more in his playful lyrics, and though the frontman doesn't exactly have a terribly eventful stage presence, with his sunglasses and cool demeanor, Parker looks perfectly at ease and content in front of a crowd –- as if there's absolutely nowhere else he'd rather be. The rest of the group look like they're having a lot of fun too, and one gets a genuine sense that they really are happy to be back together doing what they love.

Sadly, as well produced and performed as the concert is, the show is definitely on the short side (about 50 min), and coupled with the disc's barebones presentation, one can't ever quite shake the feeling that this really should have just been included as an extra on the 'This Is 40' Blu-ray disc. Regardless, what we end up with here is a solid reunion show that should certainly please big fans of the band, but doesn't quite stand alone and likely won't have much appeal outside of diehard admirers.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

Shout Factory presents 'Graham Parker & The Rumor: This is Live' in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. A single BD-25 disc and separate DVD disc are housed together in a keepcase. After some warnings and logos the disc transitions directly to a standard menu.