There's no question that this movie has some issues that bring it down - - I think it's mainly the dialog, which is just uncomfortably stiff in places. I guess that flaw has to be laid at Simon's feet since he's the only writer credited. As amazing as he is as a songwriter, scripts apparently weren't his thing. That said, you'd think that the director (Robert Young) might have done something to address these issues.
Paul Simon as Jonah Levin does an admirable job with his acting. He acts like a lost soul, which is kinda the whole point of the movie. A few scenes stand out -- Jonah's argument with Marion (Blair Brown) in the kitchen, when he's drunk at the show-biz gala party, and towards the end of the movie when he bursts into tears and starts singing "Are You Lonesome Tonight." And all the scenes with Matty are pretty precious.
Just before the crying scene mentioned above, Jonah asks for some Percodans and then a minute later says, "I am Matty, just older." And that's the key to this movie -- Jonah is a guy who knows he's getting older, but doesn't know how to grow up. He doesn't know what he wants, and he distracts and numbs himself up to avoid dealing with it.
He's offered the golden ticket -- another shot at pop relevance -- and understands it'll mean sacrificing his musical integrity and pissing off people he cares about (his bandmates). Even after people go out of their way to help him out (Joan Hackett's Lonnie Fox), in the end he chooses to trash it all, and it's left ambiguous as to what it means and where he goes next. Was he just sticking it to the man in a spoiled artist's tantrum? Does he go back to Marion to reconcile, find a real job, and raise his son? Does he go back -- integrity restored -- to his band to play dive gigs and drink and drug himself up until . . .what? We aren't given the answer, and that's okay -- I like those kinds of endings.
Really, there's a lot to chew on in this movie. It's just hard to watch because the dialog is just not realistic enough.
Lots of great cameos and small parts -- Rip Torn as the almost cartoonishly smarmy Walter Fox, Sam and Dave (would LOVE to see everything they filmed for that show), Lou Reed (as the snotty producer), Joan Hackett, Blair Brown, Mare Winningham, Harry Shearer, Tiny Tim, Dave Sanborn, . . . really everybody in the movie performs admirably despite the flawed script.
And kudos to his awesome band (Richard Tee, Steve Gadd, Tony Levin, Eric Gale). Love the scene in the dressing room when Steve Gadd is cracking Richard Tee up -- they act just like musicians). In a lot of ways, this really is a musician's movie.
It also captures a pretty peculiar time in the music biz -- the end of the '70s. Jonah's style of music is a dinosaur (the juxtaposition of his band opening for the B-52s at the Agora makes it as plain as day). For that matter, the label guy, the AM radio guy, and the producer will all find their relevance in question as the quantum shift from '70s styles to '80s styles takes place.
Also of note is that it visually captures an America that doesn't really exist any more. No strip malls in sight and lots of urban centers barely hanging on. And a "small" movie like this couldn't be made by a major studio just a few years later. It was the end of an era in Hollywood as well.
Bottom line -- flawed but recommended, especially if you like Paul Simon's music.
Paul Simon as Jonah Levin does an admirable job with his acting. He acts like a lost soul, which is kinda the whole point of the movie. A few scenes stand out -- Jonah's argument with Marion (Blair Brown) in the kitchen, when he's drunk at the show-biz gala party, and towards the end of the movie when he bursts into tears and starts singing "Are You Lonesome Tonight." And all the scenes with Matty are pretty precious.
Just before the crying scene mentioned above, Jonah asks for some Percodans and then a minute later says, "I am Matty, just older." And that's the key to this movie -- Jonah is a guy who knows he's getting older, but doesn't know how to grow up. He doesn't know what he wants, and he distracts and numbs himself up to avoid dealing with it.
He's offered the golden ticket -- another shot at pop relevance -- and understands it'll mean sacrificing his musical integrity and pissing off people he cares about (his bandmates). Even after people go out of their way to help him out (Joan Hackett's Lonnie Fox), in the end he chooses to trash it all, and it's left ambiguous as to what it means and where he goes next. Was he just sticking it to the man in a spoiled artist's tantrum? Does he go back to Marion to reconcile, find a real job, and raise his son? Does he go back -- integrity restored -- to his band to play dive gigs and drink and drug himself up until . . .what? We aren't given the answer, and that's okay -- I like those kinds of endings.
Really, there's a lot to chew on in this movie. It's just hard to watch because the dialog is just not realistic enough.
Lots of great cameos and small parts -- Rip Torn as the almost cartoonishly smarmy Walter Fox, Sam and Dave (would LOVE to see everything they filmed for that show), Lou Reed (as the snotty producer), Joan Hackett, Blair Brown, Mare Winningham, Harry Shearer, Tiny Tim, Dave Sanborn, . . . really everybody in the movie performs admirably despite the flawed script.
And kudos to his awesome band (Richard Tee, Steve Gadd, Tony Levin, Eric Gale). Love the scene in the dressing room when Steve Gadd is cracking Richard Tee up -- they act just like musicians). In a lot of ways, this really is a musician's movie.
It also captures a pretty peculiar time in the music biz -- the end of the '70s. Jonah's style of music is a dinosaur (the juxtaposition of his band opening for the B-52s at the Agora makes it as plain as day). For that matter, the label guy, the AM radio guy, and the producer will all find their relevance in question as the quantum shift from '70s styles to '80s styles takes place.
Also of note is that it visually captures an America that doesn't really exist any more. No strip malls in sight and lots of urban centers barely hanging on. And a "small" movie like this couldn't be made by a major studio just a few years later. It was the end of an era in Hollywood as well.
Bottom line -- flawed but recommended, especially if you like Paul Simon's music.