The Beach Boys: An American Family

Being an avid Brian Wilson enthusiast, I bought an emmy judge's copy of this movie from someone on Ebay, and it was a real treat, to say the least.

Of course, you may think that because I'm somewhat partial to the founding member of the beach boys, I'd like this movie whether it was a dog or not. Not true; I happen to be more into film than I am into music.

The most notable aspect of The Beach Boys: An American Family is it's quality being made for TV. I originally saw this in 2000, and I didn't expect much, but I remember being impressed even back then. The performances are top notch. The guy who played Mike Love is a dead ringer for the real life guy and SPEAKS with the exact same inflections and -isms as the REAL Mike Love from the 60s. Fred Weller did an extraordinary job playing Brian; he got the character nailed right down to the funny way the Real Brian Wilson speaks and sings out of the corner of his mouth. In terms of performances, however, Kevin Dunn (who played the Boys' abusive father, murry) stands out as easily the best. It would have been easy to make Murry over-the-top, but Kevin makes sure that the audience sees the conflict in Murry's character and that, deep down, he really does love his sons. The movie is quite long, and even so some parts did feel a little clipped, but the only person who'd notice the difference between the pace of the movie and how things occurred in real life are the beach boys/ Brian Wilson fans who already know the story by heart. This is, after all, a movie, and some events are dramatized and others downplayed to make it more "hollywood", which sounds quite evil but actually works quite nicely on-screen.

All in all, I have but two complaints. The first is the singing, and I know that I'm perhaps asking for too much, but it would've been nice to hear some actual music recreation rather than lip synching (although how could you recreate something so magical, accurately?) This problem gets exceptionally bad during certain scenes where Fred Weller "sings" and it's obviously 56-year-old Brian Wilson doing the vocals. Secondly, the movie simply ends too soon. It ceases during the mid 70s when Brian was sort of doing better, but soon after the end of the movie's timeline, he slips back even worse and almost dies. He's rescued again, however, in a highly dramatic effort by his doctor, Gene Landy, and lives to tour again. Dennis drowns, and Carl eventually succumbs to cancer. But then again, the movie is 2 hours long already. At any rate, it's a great movie to watch. Perhaps one day they'll make a sequel that highlights the latest events in the Beach Boys' tumultuous career. God only knows if that'll ever happen, but then, Wouldn't it be nice?

Before watching ANY made-for-TV movie, one must know that, on average, TV-movies have never been that great. So, now that that's out of the way, I'll get to the review.

The way Brian Wilson discovers that "Beach Boys" sound was very convincing. It didn't seem abridged, it felt real. The acting, for the most part, was top-notch. The actor who portrayed musical genius Brian Wilson, while likeable, could have used a few acting lessons. However, the part of Mike Love was dead-on.

The film is very enjoyable, and really "connects" any music listener to the Beach Boys, and especially Brian Wilson. It was only after watching this film that I truly began to realize that Wilson was a true genius, perhaps one of the best writers/musicians to come out of the 20th Century. I KNEW he was good, but it is really only now that I know just how influential he really was/is to the music industry.

Things did get corny, however, but remember -- this IS a TV movie. The first half of this miniseries is far superior to the second.

Also, I must complain about the horrible under-use of the Carl Wilson character. Carl, the Beach Boys' strong and steady voice of reason, deserved alot more than what he was given in this film. Carl would go on to lead the band in the 80s and 90s, and he was the most stable of the Wilson brothers -- don't you think his dedication warrants a little more "air time"? I do.

To focus more on the positives, however, all the actors and characters are likeable, and I found this miniseries to have some generally touching moments.

Overall, a great watch. If you appreciate good music, and if you are a fan of the Beach Boys (casual or fanatic), you should buy this TV-movie whenever it becomes available to buy on video.

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.

This was a very good movie, whether you are a big Beach Boys fan or not. However, if your not a big fan, you will be after seeing this movie. The movie was a lot easier to put together and understand if you happen to have read the book Heroes and Villains. You can see where a few things were switched around here and there, but nothing that really takes away from the truthfulness of these great musicians life as The Beach Boys. Absolutely worth the time to watch. The movie was 3.5 hours and it didn't really cover anything past about 1969. Thats the problem when you have a band that entertained America and Europe for 38 years. There isn't enough film to show it all. I would like to see a movie do the years from 1970 to about 1990, covering both Carl and Dennis' death. A very sad and tragic thing;however, remember, we still have Brian, Mike, Bruce, Al and even co-founder David ,that only appeared on the first 5 albums covering 61-63. Their talking about touring again, lets make it happen. Send comments to Brians web site. Think about it, the Beach Boys live in 2006. Wouldn't it be nice!

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!