Inside the Osmonds

Say what you want about the Osmonds, this is a very strong, loving, honorable family. I enjoyed this program very much. There is not a lot of families that could withstand the public scrutiny they had to go through. Even with some of the problems they had, they all stuck together. They should be very proud of themselves.

This made-for-TV movie has the look of a mini-series that was perhaps 2-3 nights long originally but at the last minute was only given one night by the networks. So the editors worked furiously chopping it all down to one night. It really shows. This movie will only work for you if you are an Osmond fan and know much about the biographical details of their lives. If you don't know much about the family, prepare to be lost frequently. The brothers look so similar in this movie that it is too easy to get them mixed up. The age progression that suddenly takes place with no word of explanation does not help either, as soon as you have figured out who everyone is, the people playing them are switched on you. This is the story of some Mormon boys who merely wanted to be "the next Led Zeppelin" ( I'm serious! ) and their fathers attempts to keep them true to their Mormon faith and ideals, all the while he is squandering their hard earned money away. That this film was produced by Jimmy Osmond is rather surprising as the Osmonds have always tended to keep hush-hush about anything less than a perfect family image. I thought that father George must have died, which would explain this movie's critical tone in regards to him, but no, at the end, he is trotted out on stage with the family. See this as a second feature with an earlier Osmond produced film called "Side By Side: The True Story Of The Osmond Family", and you will have a 4 hour epic story of the Osmond family...if you want that.

I have Inside The Osmonds., and i thoroughly enjoyed it. It's great they are still performing, and have not once lost the talent they started with.

I have been to see them a couple of times now, (time permitting)and have also seen Donny several times. I'm a big fan, and probably always will be. Keep it up lads.

Watching the film, showed the fans some insight to their lives, which was an eye opener, as sometimes you only see the stardom side. I have met Donny and Merrill, and have found them very sincere, and always receive their fans with a genuine nature.

Ok, I agree that this script had a Leave It To Beaver complex when it came to working out character's problems in a timely, neat manner. But hey, for those who remember the 1970s with fondness (yes, there are a few of us!), this was a pretty fun look back. Sure, the Osmonds were a pretty saccharine bunch, but they did have a few decent, rocking tunes early on (who knew the boys really longed to be the next Led-Zeppelin?). The movie does a great job in recreating their stage act, and the outfits are a total gas (the wigs and sideburns fare poorly closeup, but are sufficient in long shots). Some aspects of this story, such as their religious convictions and sibling rivalry, only got surface deep, but this was not intended to be the next Citizen Kane. Lighten up! I can't imagine any fan of the Osmonds (and there were millions!) being disappointed in this movie. By the way, did anyone notice that the fellow playing the father is D-Day from Animal House?!

I just loved this movie! Not just because I am an Osmond fan, but because it's simply a nice movie to see. It's good to see a movie where, yes fame and fortune can go to ones head and spin it around a bit, but it's comforting to see that in the end, to the Osmonds, it always was, is, and will be "family, faith, career in that order." Wonderful acting by all! If you're like me, you may need a couple of hankies for the end of the movie. Don't fear. They will be tears of joy! :-)