Sonny Boy

Last night I was fortunate enough to catch a screening of the bio-pic, SONNY BOY, at the Newport Beach Film Festival. There was a warmth and beauty to this film that shown through in even in the most dangerous and sad moments, a joy that can be experienced only through absolutely honest discourse. Frye's work here can certainly be called courageous, as she deals with the very real troubles of a father who is suffering from Alzheimer's, in particular the fact that she has never really fully reconciled with him and his fading memory makes her efforts at this all the more difficult.

What makes this more than some sad and displaced Greek Tragedy, however, is the very real trip that the director and her father take through America, and American History. There is awesome footage in this film of many a young actor in the Golden Days of Hollywood, as well as of America's difficult transition through the Civil Rights movement. The camera's unflinching eye reflects alternately on the America of today, hopes lost and gained, and the America of Virgil Frye's colorful past, when those hopes were born.

In a very real sense, this movie is a tale of three trips. One, a journey of the mind and the heart, as one fades and the other beats as strong as ever -preserving some semblance of the man of old. A second journey is made in a very real and tactile manner across the varied geography of our great nation -from the Grand Canyon to the alleys of New Orleans to the brick churches of change in Alabama, and on... Finally, there is the perceptive journey through American history, as Frye traces her father's exploits throughout his life, and many of the lives he's touched.

Bravo, Soleil, and thank you.

I saw this film at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica and was profoundly moved. Having had a mother who died of Alzheimer's, I found Soleil's portrayal of her father hit a chord. She showed the tenderness and love that can be the unexpected gift (yes, it can be a gift) of this otherwise horrible disease. Her reconnection with her father, Virgil Frye, and her attempt at closure over some long held anger, were some of the most powerful scenes I have seen on film. Soleil bared her emotions and ventured into areas that some might have avoided - after all, what is to be gained from exposing the failings of a dieing father? But in talking to her father about his shortcomings as a father and his neglect of her as a child, she seemed to find some healing and more moving, Virgil also seemed to gain some comfort from talking about what seems to have been avoided topics for many years. Just as I found a beautiful new aspect of my relationship with my mother after she could no longer put her thought into words, Soliel and Virgil seemed to have found a new peace. One thing about Alzheimers is that it cuts through the crap and the facades and lets one find the real person inside. That can be horrible or beautiful. Soliel found what I am guessing she already knew, that while Virgil did not always lead an admirable life, he had an inner decency and kindness. I am thankful that Soliel shared her journey with us. It was a brave thing to do.

Kudos for a wonderful movie.

An emotional ride with two peoples lives and their deeply moving on again off again relationship with each other. Even more compelling because your taken inside a father/daughter story. For anyone who has had to deal with or is dealing with a family member or a friend with a memory disorder you will find that your not alone in your fight. A sane look into a insane disorder. With the compelling story of one young woman's struggle to cope with her fathers illness as will as her own feelings of her life with and without him in it. Brilliantly honest look into the lives of two American Icons that we grew-up with from the 1960's into 2000's.

I saw Sonny Boy last night at the San Diego Film Festival with director Soleil Moon Frye in attendance. She presented to the audience a wonderful, warm and loving film about her father, character actor Virgil Frye, and her relationship with him. A brutally honest look at Alzheimer's, Frye does not hold back any emotion in the film. Well done, with beautiful camera work and a perfect music to accompany it(particularly the final song during the credits).

The film does not have a distributor yet, but this is a film that needs to be seen. Congratulations to Frye for allowing us to see this moving film.