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.

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.

I usually trash TV movies to pieces but I can't do it to this one! I am not a big Beach Boys fan and you don't have to be to like this TV movie. Kevin Dunne does such a great job of portraying the Murry Wilson character that by the end of the movie you almost feel sorry for him because he wants so desperately to be loved and respected by his sons, but he just doesn't get what a jerk he is. Also, unlike most TV movies made today, the facts are presented very accurately. In 1990, there was another TV movie about the Beach Boys called Summer Dreams and it is notable how consistent the two movies parallel each other. Unlike Summer Dreams, which focuses mainly on Dennis Wilson, this movie adds much more detail but ends with the Beach Boys mid-1970s come-back whereas Summer Dreams ends with Dennis Wilson's death in 1983. This is one TV movie I highly recommend. Great job by all!

This mini-series seemed a bit defanged, especially compared to the 1990 telefilm (which is unfortunately unavailable and all but forgotten). This is largely due to John Stamos' involvement, a close friend of the boys as well as the touring drummer. This creates a slightly biased point of view. The favor leaning towards no-one. No-one is presented as a protagonist or antagonist, even the villainous Murray Wilson is redeemed (an infuriating touch). Mike Love is generally considered the idiot Beach Boy, deterring from Brian's genius. But, personally I liked his character best (Matt Lescher's performance oughtta garner an Emmy nom). Brian Wilson is far too neutral and less tragic here than he was. And finally the series ends during the mid-seventies come-back, which no-one remembers!!! The series takes no chances and tries to be all happy, which it is far from. However, the earnest performances make it worth while. It's the best treatment of the legend to date. So it will have to do.

This was a great film. As someone who grew up during this period it brought back a lot of wonderful memories for me. I seems like it was a much simpler time. The Beach Boys music always makes the think of happy memories! I've seen them eight times. I had heard a lot about the problems Murry caused the group but never really knew just how hard he was on the guys. No wonder Brian has had his troubles. I thought the acting was excellent and, of course, the music was great. I attempted to record it off of television but lost some of it when the tape ran out!! I have searched high and low for a copy of this film. Does anyone know how I might obtain one? Please email me at daveh103@aol.com. Many thanks.