Vergänglicher Ruhm - Die Monkees Story

This movie was an enjoyable watch; missed it the first time but caught it on Netflix recently. The resemblance of the actors to the real Monkees is amazing, particularly Davy (George Stanchev, although much taller than the real Davy) and Peter (L.B. Fisher). Although Mike Nesmith (Jeff Geddis) and Micky Dolenz (Aaron Lohr) were not exact lookalikes,they gave stunning portrayals. For example, Geddis' mannerisms and Texan accent were spot on. And Lohr's portrayal of Dolenz' over-the-top on-stage performances and his crazy facial expressions, mimicry, etc. brought back fond memories. All of the actors took great care in portraying each of The Monkees' individual personalities. Even their voices were soundalikes (although British viewers say that Stanchev's accent was not an authentic Manchester accent). Although the television show was depicted accurately, the writing for the entire movie was very poor; something was missing. SPOILER: For example, the Beatles threw a party for the Monkees when they were touring in London. This entire scene (which should have been exciting) was boring. All in all, this was a fond tribute to The Monkees but it could have been exceptional.

I don't know why there is so much criticism of this film. While I was watching it someone walked in and thought that it was actually 'The Monkees', that shows what a great job all the lead actors did. Aaron Lohr was quite convincing as Micky Dolenz which isn't easy as Mr Dolenz has a very unique look. Jeff Geddis was a very convincing Mike. George Stanchev did a fine job of Davy Jones in my opinion, I thought his accent was pretty good and the look was spot on. LB Fisher was a very convincing Peter Tork. They not only looked like 'The Monkees' they talked and moved like them. What more do you want from a Biopic? You will never get every detail right as you cannot cram several years into a couple of hours without some artistic license. The only film that really got it all right was Ray! The characterisations of other famous people in the film didn't quite live up to it, especially Jimmy Hendricks and The Beatles, but the Jack Nicholson was pretty good I'd say. Could they have done things better in this film? Yes of course they could, but over all it was a pretty good and convincing portrayal. My only criticism is the ending could have been better and in fact the film itself could have been a bit longer to show more about the split of the group etc. But I would still wholeheartedly recommend this film to anyone with an interest in music, the 60s or The Monkees themselves.

Being a 14 year old Monkees fan I obviously wasn't around when the Monkees were at the height of their success- but I know their story pretty well. I didn't know what to make of the film at first- somebody else portraying my beloved Monkees? But after watching it I found that I loved it- it was pretty much true to the Monkees story and was a lot of fun. The soundtrack was great too- it will leave you humming Monkees songs for days afterwords!

The film is a credit to Davy,Micky,Peter and Mike and to the actors who played them [George Stanchev, Aaron Lohr, L.B Fisher and Jeff Geddis] watch the movie if you are a Monkees fan..if you are NOT a Monkees fan, watch the movie and you will probably become one!

Being a true Monkees buff, I'd have to say that, after one gets over the inaccuracies in the script, the filmmakers couldn't have done a better job. Unmentioned in previous reviews is the all-consuming egomania displayed by Colgems music president Don Kirshner, who made so much money during his 9-10 months in charge that his casual dismissal of the four individual Monkees is nothing less than petty (to the end of his life, he always insisted on total credit for their success). The script manages to incorporate just about all the most famous names associated with the group: songwriters (Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond, Carole King, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart), and performers (The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Jack Nicholson). The four actors were all praiseworthy, particularly L. B. Fisher's Tork, who conveys that inner essence the show rarely allowed. The three others basically played extensions of themselves, but Peter had to play a kind of 'Harpo Marx/Stan Laurel' composite, not so much 'the dummy,' as he himself described it, but simply the trusting, naïve innocent, which of course he definitely was not. George Stanchev really nails Davy's moves, and probably bears the strongest physical resemblance to his namesake (amazingly, neither of these two actors worked beyond 2003). Jeff Geddis gets the full portrait of Nesmith, who wasn't as volatile as this suggests, nor apologetic, simply an ambitious young man who saw the TV series as a means to an end. Of course, he had the most experience in the studio (both as a writer and producer), and did encourage the others to compose their own songs. Aaron Lohr's Micky isn't as good as the others, but to be fair it appears he had less to work with, scriptwise; Micky Dolenz was such an enormous talent in front and behind the camera, that to this day his remains one of the most recognized voices of the 1960s. Rather than carp on what's missing, consider how the existence of this modest little biopic shot in Canada is not just a boon for The Monkees themselves, but a nice introduction for younger viewers unfamiliar with the phenomenon (forget 1987's The New Monkees). Actual Monkees recordings used: "(Theme from) The Monkees," "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," "Daydream Believer," "I Wanna Be Free," and "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," the latter two actual live performances from the band's 1967 summer tour (heck, the only essential one missing really is "Pleasant Valley Sunday"). "All of Your Toys" was a Bill Martin composition that earned the distinction of being their very first studio recording as a band (Jan 16 1967), but due to it not being a Screen Gems copyright remained in the can until 1987's MISSING LINKS release. As an added bonus, used during their meeting with The Beatles, is "(All in the) All in All," from the 1998 disc RE-ZOOM by The Knack, a group that was ballyhooed in 1979 ("My Sharona," "Good Girls Don't") as being 'Beatlesque,' and once you hear it you'll understand why.

I didn't really know what to expect when I tuned into VH1 for their latest BioPic. After spending a day with Monkees episodes and then the Behind the Music, I was curious what it would be like to have "fake-Monkees" on the screen. What I found was an interesting film. The individual performances were 75% acceptable... I was actually awe-struck while watching L.B. Fisher portray Peter Tork. I think just about everyone has to admit that he certainly nailed his role. Aaron Lohr pulled Micky off alright. His hair was a little too curly, but that's forgivable, right? Jeff Geddis was a convincing Mike. Especially during the audition scenes. I actually believe he had the timing and the movements exactly correct, or at least very nearly. Now, for the not-so-pleasantly-reviewed-actor. George Stanchev may be a fine actor, but I don't think he was well suited for Davy. For one, he was too tall; Two, the accent.. ouch; and thirdly the cleft in his chin grabbed more attention than his acting. Agree? Disagree? Oh well. Did anyone else notice the green sign that read "Davy is Groovy" in *every* concert sequence? I found that kind of endearing, actually, the budget really must have been quite low, but I can deal with that.

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