Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of 'Smile'

After years of reading books, magazines, listening to bootlegs, compiling my own mixes on cassette, watching made-for-TV scripted films as well as documentaries, which I switched off after the SMiLE section, there's finally an entire film about the one album. Thank God. Now, for all of us who obsess, this is the perfect documentary. rare photos, film footage, modern-day interviews, behind the scenes rehearsals for the recording sessions and the tour, it's all there. It's everything you wanted to know about SMiLE and then some. No longer merely touched upon for its 5 to 10 minutes in the grand scheme of things, SMiLE is out there. I think now Brian Wilson can not only retire in extreme wealth, but also at peace. His dream has finally been realized and the cameras let us watch it all unfold.

Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of 'Smile' (2004)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely touching documentary about the greatest rock 'n roll album that was never made. This film talks about the making of The Beach Boys album 'Smile' which was set to be the follow-up to their masterpiece 'Pet Sounds' but the band and record label didn't like the fact that Brian Wilson was spending so much time on something that wasn't guaranteed to be a hit. The making of Smile is legendary on so many levels. On one hand you have the actual brilliance of what the album was supposed to be. On another hand you have a powerful band ripping themselves apart. You have way too many drugs being used. You have a record label not wanting an artist to do something artistic. Then you've got Wilson who was doing too many drugs, was trying to do something that had never been done before and eventually he would suffer a nervous breakdown. This is a wonderfully entertaining documentary that takes a look back at these days and the amount of detail given is quite special. One of the most entertaining things is hearing about The Beatles and The Beach Boys kept trying to one up each other and we get to hear from George Martin about the band's constant hearing of this special album that never came to be. We get a pretty honest interview from Wilson who doesn't shy away from the topics including how this album has pretty much haunted him throughout his life. It all ended when Wilson decided to put 'Smile' back together and take it on the road. I think it would be unfair to call this the definitive look at the making of the album simply because so many of the other people involved are not interviewed here. With that being said, what this movie really is is a rather amazing and unique comeback story for Wilson. I must admit that the ending was quite powerful and emotional as we see Wilson pretty much getting this monkey off his back after 37 years. Fans of the band are going to love what's here but hopefully one day we can see the other side of the story.

In my opinion, The Beach Boys are possibly the most overrated 'pop' band in history. Striped shirts, falsetto vocals, Mike Love, and not an ounce of grit or sweat between them. Well, maybe Dennis had an ounce or two. That said, whilst I remain a committed nonbeliever in the genius of the film's subject, Beautiful Dreamer is undeniably a moving experience. Brian Wilson's continuing battle to overcome mental illness is a truly heroic one, and even though the man can't sing anymore, he still puts his heart and soul into everything he does. The music may be overproduced slush, but Wilson believes in it heart and soul, and for that he must be commended. Fans of the band will be extremely happy with this overly respectful but solid documentary tribute to a man and his art.

This film could be re-made as dramatization and if made by the right people it would be in contention for an Academy Award for best picture. I am not sure that you could fictionalize a story as engrossing as this one.

First, lets get this out of the way...Brian Wilson is a genius! Sir George Martin (the Beatles producer, who worked with Lennon and McCartney for 7 years), said that if he had to name a living genius of pop, it would be Brian Wilson. If you still have doubts get the Pet Sound Sessions box set, listen to the music and read the making of Pet Sounds book that comes with it. Make sure you read the comments of the Studio musicians who worked with him...Case Closed!

What is really amazing is that Brian Wilson seems genuinely to be sweet heart of a guy! How many extremely talented people are also nice people? It seems to be a small club.

I have listened to the finished SMILE album many times since its release and I think that it is brilliant!

The idea that the Beach Boys are "overrated" is subjective. Who is doing the rating and who is doing the reading will make all the difference.

There are personal likes and dislikes that can't be judged or accounted for

completely, even by those who hold them. These basic things strike us in a

certain way, or another.

But practitioners of music, people who work in the industry won't say of the Beach Boys "overrated," for the simple reason that the catalog is so diverse, and some of the stuff is among the most innovative and "significant," to quote

Leonard Bernstein music of its time. Don't Worry Baby, Warmth of the Sun, Pet Sounds and SMiLE, for a few examples. The entire surfing and car group of Top 40 songs too, were unprecedented. To the millions who love any of these

styles, they will always be under-rated, for they have given deep emotional

solace and/or musical challenge.

Composition, arrangement, orchestration, performance and perhaps most of all, recording production boundaries have been pushed aside by Brian and some

of the others, conferring innumerable new artistic and technical satisfactions across the entire popular (and even jazz and classical) business landscapes.

So "overrated?" Not in the impartial musical sense. Only the personal.

Beautiful Dreamer is a wonderful documentary about this phenomenon.