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As One Of Danny's Band... I -Want- To Like This. But...

posted 10 years ago by mail-2217
14 replies | jump to latest

In my 'day job' I've played behind more guys like this than I care to count.

I almost didn't see this. First I was skeptical of Pacino in this role. And also, frankly, paying to watch over-the-hill guys is like asking a soldier to watch a war movie. However...

Pacino Bad: Terrible casting. What they needed was to get a -real- guy from the 60's who plays casinos to do this (of course, then they couldn't have gotten the movie made, I guess.) But it needed someone with -cred-. The closest analog I could think of was Mickey Rourke in 'The Wrestler'. He -was- that part.

Pacino Good: OTOH, he pretty much nails everything except 'the music'. The wrinkles, the spray tan, the 'I can't believe he's really like that' personality. NAILED IT. And also the combination of arrested development and self-awareness.

Music: This is my biggest issue: We have to believe that the guy could write a great song. So there has to be at least ONE great song and he has to deliver. They shoulda done what Tom Hanks did with 'That Thing You Do'... hire Marshall Crenshaw or someone who really channels that era and can -really- deliver the goods. 'Hey Baby Doll' is a completely forgettable -60's- bubble gum song of some kind, which has NOTHING to do with the 'sensitive singer/songwriter' he's purported to be (I was thinking Jim Croce?) I consciously tuned out whenever =any= music was going on it was so cringe-worthy.

Everything Else: Great. Annette Bening played a 'professionally nice' bitter divorcee great. I -know- her. :D Bobby Canavale is such a good actor, he made me believe he could be Al's kid... despite the physical difference. Even the ADHD kid felt believable. And Extra Special Credit for the Chime Mag editor. I've met SEVERAL ex-music mag editors who were just as pretentious as that guy. Fantastic. Even the side men and singers were spot on. (You know yer in trouble when yer 50 and yer still 20 years younger than the boss. That's my life.:D)

Bonus Points: Aging fans. I've read a LOT of posts here negatively commenting on them. WRONG. They -nail- it. I play in front of these people all the time and if anything? They act even MORE silly than the people in Danny Collins. Boomers at rock n roll shows? It ain't pretty. :D

In summary: 6. I have rarely had such mixed feelings about a movie. The stuff it gets right, it really gets right. But the stuff it fails at (the music) is pretty awful. And c'mon, that's like doing a Bruce Lee biopic with a guy who can't Kung Fu.

[–] AlmaDuende 10 years ago

Al Pacino is God. Who are you? Your opinion is nothing.

m.
You're on twitter, I'm on twatter!!!

[–] biteyislewis 10 years ago

Pacino was bad casting because he never played music in the 60s??

You're right, Tom Hanks never fought in a war so he was bad casting for Saving Private Ryan.

[–] pacinoyes 10 years ago

"Hey Baby Doll' is a completely forgettable -60's- bubble gum song of some kind, which has NOTHING to do with the 'sensitive singer/songwriter' he's purported to be"

That's the point - that song is crap and people want to hear him sing crap. You don't hear any of the "good stuff" he wrote on his first album, but I mean you kind of have to go along with it........

[–] mail-2217 10 years ago

That's not a trivial thing. It would be like Dylan (or John Lennon) putting on a jump suit and singing 'Knock Three Times On The Ceiling'.

How did he go from 'Dylan' to 'Tony Orlando'?

We're supposed to believe that he got all this 'cred' and legendary reviews from Rolling Stone and -then- he went over to the pop dark side?

That's too much for me to suspend disbelief on.

If he had simply started out as Tony Orlando... but in his -mind- he always wanted to be Dylan? That I could've bought. But then... pretentious rock critic wouldn't have written him up, John Lennon wouldn't have written him a letter, and then there's no movie. :D

[–] pacinoyes 10 years ago

"That's not a trivial thing. It would be like Dylan (or John Lennon) putting on a jump suit and singing 'Knock Three Times On The Ceiling'."

I think you're applying too much weight to a film that isn't straining for that kind of gravitas - he wasn't a Dylan - he maybe "could have been". Did he get a "legendary" review from Rolling Stone or just a good one (?) - I'm not sure I remember that magazine being mentioned in the film specifically.

I mean how does the story presented here differ that much from Neil Diamond's '66-'67 era? It's not exact but it's not that much of a stretch either - and Neil Diamond is the closest thing to Danny in his successful era (Hey Baby Doll is basically a rewrite of Sweet Caroline clearly)

Different strokes I guess......

[–] gilknut 10 years ago

While I think the OP has some valid points, this was specifically what I was thinking as well.

I was thinking Neil Diamond the whole time from the first few chords of the movie; he's got to be a big part of the inspiration for this character.

Not only the obvious relation to "Sweet Caroline" in melody, text and arrangement, but Danny's appearance, his level of fame and the sort of career curve is very, very much like Neil Diamond's. The latter has/had precisely that strange mixture of songwriting cred from the early days, and "Las Vegas" scarf-wearing entertainer/crooner the last 30 years or so.

Sure, he's written several songs after the 70's, but can anyone really name any of them without googling?

IMDb-boards would be less confusing if people would mark their signatures clearly.

[–] dinerfood-901-211557 10 years ago

You appear like an exceptional case but for most I think there's a time to hang it up the r&r shoes and walk away. I didn't want to be the senior citizen in the kiddie bar or playing weddings or hobbling home at 3 am every night. And I won't attend these oldies shows as I can make an ass of myself very well on my own thank you.

[–] mail-2217 10 years ago

You're preaching to the choir. There is -nothing- more sad (to me) than a 65yr old guy with hair plugs, van dyke and pony tail playing songs from '69 at a casino to 60yr old drunks.

And I can say that now that I've stopped doing that.

Now when I was getting paid? Those guys were the most! :D

[–] bonsai-superstar 10 years ago

You make a great point. Don't mind the professional disagree-ers - they think contradicting something on the internet gives them an identity. This movie was based on the idea that this guy was once compared to JOHN LENNON. If you arguing clowns actually believe ANY of the tripe - especially the main character's comeback song - was anywhere near even the sappiest Lennon ballad, you are simply wrong. Give up the net naysaying and listen to reason.

[–] pacinoyes 10 years ago

"If you arguing clowns actually believe ANY of the tripe - especially the main character's comeback song - was anywhere near even the sappiest Lennon ballad, you are simply wrong."

Not really, the film doesn't make any such argument. His song isn't warmly received by the fans, no one says its great but the woman he likes and who sees it as personal to him. The film doesn't in anyway argue him or the song as an equivalent to Lennon's work, just as a potential great artist whose writing is similar to Lennon (according to 1 character).

[–] WVfilmfem 10 years ago

Yeah, the music was bad. I was thinking Barry Manilow, or the like. Some of my friends still love it, but to think, first of all, that John Lennon would have written to such a performer, encouraging him, is kind of ludicrous. Pacino can't sing, so they should have dubbed his voice or cast an actor with some pipes. I only watched this because of Bobby Cannavale. I loved him in The Station Agent and Boardwalk Empire.

[–] mail-2217 10 years ago

Bobby is one of those guys who makes any movie he's in better. If you haven't, check out the mini-series 'King Pin' he did. It's like Boardwalk Empire for Mexican drug cartels.

[–] WVfilmfem 10 years ago

Thanks, Mail. Will def. check it out!

[–] DigIt 10 years ago

Actually I did like Pacino here and his depiction of a contradictory (and let's say, forgettable) character.
I also thought about Jim Croce, but hearing Pacino's singing I better thought of a Leonard Cohen but as for the songs, yes I agree with you: hardly believable but not impossible that such kind of Artist get selled out on the 'pop dark side' of the record.
This turning and aging for a singer reminded me of a somewhat similar character (though much more believable) as in < Music and Lyrics > but it differs as well by the story's starting point.

All in all I found the movie well directed, acted by a fine cast and based on an intriguing assumption the script was quite good and balanced, never indulging too much on the grotesque or the drama.

In summary: yes there are no memorable songs, but that was intentional I believe.
He lost all of his promising talent and got selled out to the music business, but we hear only a glimpse of what might have been his true song. The remaining ones are just crap.