Goin' Coconuts

I never saw this movie, didn't know it was a movie when I bought the album back in 1978. I loved the soundtrack album, I wish they would reissue it in CD. I have a Greatest Hits album that includes On the shelf, but I also liked the other songs, specially Falling In Love (it was great), the instrumental version of May Tomorrow Be a Perfect Day, and that cover they did that went like this "Baby, now that I found you I can't let you go, I built my world around you, I need you so, baby even though you don't need me..." One day I had that song playing and my older brother said "Wow, that's a very old song!". He remembered the original; for me it was new. Later I heard the original (I don't remember the title of the tune), but I still prefer Donny & Marie's version.I really enjoyed (and still do) their music and their TV show when I was a teenager. God bless them both!

I saw this movie when I was a kid and just watched it again for nostalgia's sake. My reaction on both occasions was to think "What happened here?" They couldn't have come up with a lazier, lamer vehicle for these kids if they'd tried. I mean, it was a theatrical feature film featuring a talented duo with a hit tv show ant hit records. And it's like they put almost no money--or, more importantly, zero effort--into the movie. It's not even as good as a TV movie from back in the day--the two part Brady Bunch Hawaiian episode was better quality. Howard Morris has directed good films before this, but Coconuts seems to have not been directed at all. SO many endless long shots, bad sound--like they just set up a camera in one spot and told the actors to do the best they could with no retakes. Kenneth Mars tries desperately to be funny--SO desperately. Donny and Marie are pleasant and natural, but they're so relaxed they seem to think that they're just doing a rehearsal. There's a happy, "Yeah, whatever...when's lunch?" attitude which could have been funny if played up on purpose. But I think they really just had no idea what was going on. This doesn't seem like it was directed by someone who doesn't know how to direct a movie, but by someone who has never even SEEN a movie before. The cheezy disney movies of the day like Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo put this film to shame. How could so many talented people produce something so LAME?

Ps-- I recently read that Donny and Marie passed up on roles in Grease in order to do this movie--Marie would have been Sandy and Donny cameoed as an angel. They supposedly chose this project because it was more "family friendly," which is kind of strange seeing as how it has murders and racial "humor."

When I was 7 and 8, I was a HUGE fan of the Donnie and Marie show. After their movie came out and went to Home Box Office, I saw it every chance I got. I'm sure I saw it at least 5 times. It's amazing the things that will entertain an 8 year old. I had never seen Donnie in a suspenseful role so I was impressed with his talent to combine suspense and comedy. I was hoping for a sequel or a series of movies to come from Donnie and Marie but that didn't happen. Then I turned 10 and Donnie and Marie didn't seem that great anymore. My tastes went to teenage comedies like 'Fast Times' and 'Porkies'. Donnie and Marie was for the pre-pre-teen audience.

This film essentially begins with both Donny Osmond and his sister Marie Osmond boarding a plane to Hawaii where they have a few performances booked for them. Just prior to their flight, a priest gives Marie a necklace he says the children at a local orphanage would want her to have. Although it is obviously not worth that much, Marie accepts the gift only because of the sentiment behind it. What she doesn't realize is that the priest who gave it to him is actually a thief named "Charlie" (Jack Collins) and it holds a secret which other sinister groups also desire. Not only that, but once they find out that Marie now has the necklace, they immediately set their sights on both Donny and Marie--and they are willing to commit murder to have what they want. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I remember watching this movie when it first came out and it didn't leave much of an impression on me at that time. Having now seen it again over 40 years later, my initial impression remains the same as this clearly isn't a first-rate film by any stretch of the imagination. It does, however, have a couple of cute scenes here and there with one particular song-and-dance performance by Donny and Marie in a native Hawaiian setting that I found to be rather entertaining. That being said, while this certainly isn't a great comedy by any means, I don't consider it to be that bad necessarily, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

I first saw this movie when I was a young teenager. I recently bought it online in VHS format. I loved this movie when I was a kid, even though I know it was no Oscar contender. I was and am a big Osmond fan.

This is a GREAT family movie. Not too scary for the little ones, enough suspense for the older kids. Mom and dad can enjoy this movie for exactly what it is, more Donny and Marie than you could get in the wonderful one hour weekly TV show in one sitting.

The music is really good, and the Osmonds prove yet again that even if you don't like them, they have fantastic musical abilities. The songs themselves are good and directly relate to the story. The acting isn't bad either. You even get a short preview of Donnys beautiful real life wife at the end of the movie.