Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys

An okay film, but not a good depiction of Mike Love. Yes he has definitely had, and still has plenty of his moments. But this film focused way too much on his negative side.

As others have stated, this movie definitely feels crammed. How can you accurately depict a full Beach Boys Bio in a 90 minute tv movie? You just can't. But under the circumstances, they did a pretty decent job here. I do wish they would have given the year each time they jumped around. It was confusing to keep up with where they were going, although it seems like they focused on the early 60's to maybe 1984, just after Dennis died. The movie played out more like a Dennis bio than anything else. Sure they focused on Brian too, but not nearly as in depth as Dennis. I suppose you would need several years of a tv series to fully capture everything about the Beach Boys. The music in this movie is just some imitation band, but it's not half bad. Obviously they had to gloss over quite a bit and they barely got into Brian's mental illness and years long reclusive behavior. If you're a Beach Boys fan, this is definitely worth a watch. Overall it's interesting and some good performances, especially by Bruce Greenwood.

I saw this film a couple of years ago and being a Beach Boys fan, i was hoping the film would be a half decent biography. But as soon as they finish "God Only Knows" the film just becomes boring. It hardly documents on Brian's health problems and his road to recovery with the help of Dr. Eugene Landy, and it focuses on Dennis' involvement with Charlie Manson a bit too much. I just think it is too brief and it is hard to watch with interest when the songs finish. The film could have been so much better if they had gone more in depth and brightened it up with more songs. So much happened in the Beach Boys career that wasn't even shown in the film.

Considering the natural constraints that are built into a TV-movie, this one does a pretty good job of telling the Beach Boys' story. One might almost call it admirable. The script is based on Steven Gaines book about the group, 'Heroes and Villains,' and for the most part it deals honestly and straightforwardly with the band's roller-coaster ride over a couple of decades, a ride which unfortunately had more than its share of steep declines. Main themes include the struggle for creative control of the band between head of the Wilson clan Murray and eldest son Brian, the struggle for Brian Wilson's sanity as he tries to handle the responsibility of being the band's leader, and Dennis Wilson's problems with drugs and relationships that prove self-destructive.

It was easier to depict Dennis' earthy lifestyle than to delve into Brian's complex psyche, I suppose, so this turns into more of the Dennis and Brian show than one might imagine. The other group members Mike Love, Carl Wilson and Alan Jardine accordingly clear the stage for the most part. The music proves a bit problematic, too. Apparently unable to use original Beach Boys material, the imitations are not so terrible, but any true fan of the group will immediately note the difference. Love's voice proves a lot easier to recreate than does Brian's falsetto. One good scene has the boys performing their first song, 'Surfin',' for Mr. Wilson. The best musical sequence is designed to show Brian's blossoming genius at composing and arranging, and this occurs when the band is seen recording 'God Only Knows.' They even correctly showed Carl doing the vocal! But it seems the movie's producers didn't have the nerve to try and take on the Beach Boys' biggest hit and Brian's most glorious creation, 'Good Vibrations.' It's nowhere to be heard in this film.

I thought this was a good film that captured the essence of the Beach boys. The conflict with the Father and his unreasonable behaviour was well acted out as were the many changing faces, moods and music of this great band.

Of course in a 90 minute film covering many decades there will be omisions and errors but I was amazed at how much this film did cover. Most of the great songs are included and the actor playing Dennis Wilson was particularly good, although the Mike Love character was probably the most like the man himself, his role was underplayed.

My only real criticism is I would have liked to have heard and seen more songs and maybe some of the more joyful times that this band no doubt would have had, but overall a damn good film I'd say.