Post by kds on May 15, 2020 13:26:56 GMT
When I was single, and before having a son, I used to reserve Friday nights for movie nights. So, since today is Friday, I'll open up this can of worms of the controversial 2000 mini series that aired on ABC.
This movie is pretty universally bashed among Beach Boys fans. Part of the reason for that is likely Brian Wilson himself saying "it stunk." Also, Mike Love and John Stamos were involved, so that does not help it's standing.
But, one thing to keep in mind. It's.....a......movie. It's not a documentary. Biopics are not to be taken as fact, and they never have been. And, you know what, as a movie, it's pretty good. I'll admit, I'm a little biased as constant reruns on Vh1 Classic in late 2000s piqued by interest in The Beach Boys' backstory.
For anyone who doesn't know, the movie presents The Beach Boys' story from their early teens through 1974, with their Endless Summer comeback.
So, the good. I think the first half of the movie is actually pretty well done. Veteran character actor Kevin Dunn does a great job as Murry Wilson. Critics of the film claim that Mike Love comes across as a hero, but I don't see that. I think the Mike character is done somewhat objectively. And the sequence where Mike helps write GV (usually pointed to as "Mike the savior") really isn't treated that differently in 2015's Love and Mercy. I also think the Brian character, at least up until the Smile era, is done pretty well. The rise to fame through Pet Sounds is pretty standard biopic stuff, and quite good IMO.
The bad. Once we get to the Smile era, Brian becomes very cartoony (although from some books I've read, that might not have been as exaggerated as we'd like to believe). The actual music from Smile is not used (unlike all of the other BB music in the movie), and the music they use paints Smile as this weird, abstract almost non-music. It's little wonder Van Dyke Parks stopped them from using his real name on later airings and the VHS release if that's the way the music was portrayed. Carl and Al are little more than background characters. There's an increased focus on Dennis in the second half, with his association with Manson which was probably largely done for TV ratings. There's also little to no mention of the early 70s material.
So, the end result is a pretty uneven biopic. I think it's worth it for some of the performances, even if the accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. But, the same can be said of Love and Mercy as well (more of that later).
This movie is pretty universally bashed among Beach Boys fans. Part of the reason for that is likely Brian Wilson himself saying "it stunk." Also, Mike Love and John Stamos were involved, so that does not help it's standing.
But, one thing to keep in mind. It's.....a......movie. It's not a documentary. Biopics are not to be taken as fact, and they never have been. And, you know what, as a movie, it's pretty good. I'll admit, I'm a little biased as constant reruns on Vh1 Classic in late 2000s piqued by interest in The Beach Boys' backstory.
For anyone who doesn't know, the movie presents The Beach Boys' story from their early teens through 1974, with their Endless Summer comeback.
So, the good. I think the first half of the movie is actually pretty well done. Veteran character actor Kevin Dunn does a great job as Murry Wilson. Critics of the film claim that Mike Love comes across as a hero, but I don't see that. I think the Mike character is done somewhat objectively. And the sequence where Mike helps write GV (usually pointed to as "Mike the savior") really isn't treated that differently in 2015's Love and Mercy. I also think the Brian character, at least up until the Smile era, is done pretty well. The rise to fame through Pet Sounds is pretty standard biopic stuff, and quite good IMO.
The bad. Once we get to the Smile era, Brian becomes very cartoony (although from some books I've read, that might not have been as exaggerated as we'd like to believe). The actual music from Smile is not used (unlike all of the other BB music in the movie), and the music they use paints Smile as this weird, abstract almost non-music. It's little wonder Van Dyke Parks stopped them from using his real name on later airings and the VHS release if that's the way the music was portrayed. Carl and Al are little more than background characters. There's an increased focus on Dennis in the second half, with his association with Manson which was probably largely done for TV ratings. There's also little to no mention of the early 70s material.
So, the end result is a pretty uneven biopic. I think it's worth it for some of the performances, even if the accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. But, the same can be said of Love and Mercy as well (more of that later).