The Beach Boys: An American Family

This movie just happened to be on when i came back home on a Sunday afternoon, and initially I thought it was going to be awful. But I was so wrong, I really enjoyed it, they could have shortened it a bit, it lasted nearly 3 hours with ad breaks, but in the main I found the performances very good, the writing credible, and I discovered stuff about the beach boys that I hadn't known before.

It doesn't just focus on the music but also the somewhat strained relationship between brian Wilson and his father, his relationship with the rest of the band, and the various screw ups that seemed to afflict most of the members.

Being an avid Brian Wilson enthusiast, I bought an emmy judge's copy of this movie from someone on Ebay, and it was a real treat, to say the least.

Of course, you may think that because I'm somewhat partial to the founding member of the beach boys, I'd like this movie whether it was a dog or not. Not true; I happen to be more into film than I am into music.

The most notable aspect of The Beach Boys: An American Family is it's quality being made for TV. I originally saw this in 2000, and I didn't expect much, but I remember being impressed even back then. The performances are top notch. The guy who played Mike Love is a dead ringer for the real life guy and SPEAKS with the exact same inflections and -isms as the REAL Mike Love from the 60s. Fred Weller did an extraordinary job playing Brian; he got the character nailed right down to the funny way the Real Brian Wilson speaks and sings out of the corner of his mouth. In terms of performances, however, Kevin Dunn (who played the Boys' abusive father, murry) stands out as easily the best. It would have been easy to make Murry over-the-top, but Kevin makes sure that the audience sees the conflict in Murry's character and that, deep down, he really does love his sons. The movie is quite long, and even so some parts did feel a little clipped, but the only person who'd notice the difference between the pace of the movie and how things occurred in real life are the beach boys/ Brian Wilson fans who already know the story by heart. This is, after all, a movie, and some events are dramatized and others downplayed to make it more "hollywood", which sounds quite evil but actually works quite nicely on-screen.

All in all, I have but two complaints. The first is the singing, and I know that I'm perhaps asking for too much, but it would've been nice to hear some actual music recreation rather than lip synching (although how could you recreate something so magical, accurately?) This problem gets exceptionally bad during certain scenes where Fred Weller "sings" and it's obviously 56-year-old Brian Wilson doing the vocals. Secondly, the movie simply ends too soon. It ceases during the mid 70s when Brian was sort of doing better, but soon after the end of the movie's timeline, he slips back even worse and almost dies. He's rescued again, however, in a highly dramatic effort by his doctor, Gene Landy, and lives to tour again. Dennis drowns, and Carl eventually succumbs to cancer. But then again, the movie is 2 hours long already. At any rate, it's a great movie to watch. Perhaps one day they'll make a sequel that highlights the latest events in the Beach Boys' tumultuous career. God only knows if that'll ever happen, but then, Wouldn't it be nice?

Before watching ANY made-for-TV movie, one must know that, on average, TV-movies have never been that great. So, now that that's out of the way, I'll get to the review.

The way Brian Wilson discovers that "Beach Boys" sound was very convincing. It didn't seem abridged, it felt real. The acting, for the most part, was top-notch. The actor who portrayed musical genius Brian Wilson, while likeable, could have used a few acting lessons. However, the part of Mike Love was dead-on.

The film is very enjoyable, and really "connects" any music listener to the Beach Boys, and especially Brian Wilson. It was only after watching this film that I truly began to realize that Wilson was a true genius, perhaps one of the best writers/musicians to come out of the 20th Century. I KNEW he was good, but it is really only now that I know just how influential he really was/is to the music industry.

Things did get corny, however, but remember -- this IS a TV movie. The first half of this miniseries is far superior to the second.

Also, I must complain about the horrible under-use of the Carl Wilson character. Carl, the Beach Boys' strong and steady voice of reason, deserved alot more than what he was given in this film. Carl would go on to lead the band in the 80s and 90s, and he was the most stable of the Wilson brothers -- don't you think his dedication warrants a little more "air time"? I do.

To focus more on the positives, however, all the actors and characters are likeable, and I found this miniseries to have some generally touching moments.

Overall, a great watch. If you appreciate good music, and if you are a fan of the Beach Boys (casual or fanatic), you should buy this TV-movie whenever it becomes available to buy on video.

I like music biopics, Fred Weller makes Brian appear like a silly teenager, yes Brian had mental problems fueled by drugs but he was a musical genius and this does not show through. Matt Letscher stood out as Mike Love. Nick Stabile was well cast as Dennis but the movie stops before his drowning which was a tragic event in the Beach boys history. Where I think the movie failed is that it lacked any joy. The Beach boys music oozes joy and this was not put across. For those reasons I actually prefer 'Summer dreams'

The Beach Boys: An American Family (2000)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Epic telling of the rise and downfall of The Beach Boys who rose to the top of the charts before members started doing their own things including various stints with drugs. The movie follows the band as they try to come up with new songs while Brian Wilson (Frederick Weller) begins to experiment and try a different style of music. THE BEACH BOYS: AN American FAMILY clocks in just under three hours and it covers a very short period but I guess that's what is so amazing about this band. It's rather incredible to think of how many great songs they recorded in such a limited amount of time. As with most bio pics, there are certainly things changed for dramatic purposes but for the most part I think fans are going to be happy with what the producers have done here. This was originally aired over a two night period with each episode clocking in at two hours. The first portion basically covers the rise of the group and ends just as the bands are starting to face new pressures. The second portion follows with how the band members started to go their own ways, experimenting with drugs and looks closer at the abuse the band was taking from their manager Murry Wilson (Kevin Dunn). The film features some incredibly good performances including Dunn as the rather villainous father who pretty much did whatever he could to get even, in a bad way with his kids. Weller is also quite memorable as Wilson, although he unintentionally reminded me of the Jeff Daniels character from DUMB AND DUMBER during the breakdown scenes at the end. Alley Mills (Audree Wilson), Nick Stabile (Dennis Wilson) and Matt Letscher (Mike Love) are also very memorable in their parts. A major plus going for the film are all the great tunes from the band, heard in their original versions. The film does start to feel a bit long towards the end and I think the downfall of the band took a bit too much time and I think some of the material could have been trimmed down some (especially the Charles Manson stuff). Still, fans of the group should really enjoy this film.