User reviews

Jewel thieves in Hawaii are after necklace worn by visiting pop star. Imagine being outsmarted by Donny & Marie Osmond! Blandly cute semi-musical may spark fond memories for fans of the duo's TV variety show, but is otherwise an unpolished comedy of embarrassments. Aloha! *1/2 from ****

Donny and Marie Osmond (playing themselves) and their tightly wound manager Sid (Herb Edelman ) are off to Hawaii for a concert, but when a stolen Jewel winds up in Marie's possession hi-jinks ensue.

Produced during the annual hiatus for Donny & Marie's variety and financed and distributed by The Osmonds, Goin' Coconuts was supposed be a test of of Donny and Marie Osmond's celebrity status by seeing if they could open and carry a feature film. A critical and commercial dud upon release, the movie has been mostly forgotten, and rightly so because it's a pathetic excuse for a movie that is ineptly directed and acted.

Despite allegedly being the focal point of the movie, Donny & Marie are often relegated to the background while we focus on an assorted of TV character actors engaging in pratfalls, double takes, or other limply played comic gags that don't raise so much as a snicker let alone a laugh. The movie is directed by veteran sitcom director Howard Morris and can't maintain comic momentum or edit scenes to give the gags any life or punch. None of the scenes involving the crooks are funny, but they are at least slightly more engaging than the Osmonds themselves. Donny and Marie have no stage presence when it comes to acting, they basically have one mode in this movie and it's wide eyed smiling niceness, while that can sometimes be used for comic effect here it isn't because more often than not Donny and Marie are blissfully unaware of most of the farcical scenes surrounding them so there's no comic friction played off their unnaturally smiley demeanor. The movie is rated PG for reasons I can't discern as I've seen G Rated Disney comedies from around the same time like No Deposit, No Return or Snowball Express that felt way edgier than this.

Goin' Coconuts is a failure. It's a failure to extend the Osmonds repertoire to feature films, it's a failure as comedy, it's even a failure as a travelogue to Hawaii because the movie has a very flat look to it that doesn't capture the state's natural beauty and is instead focuses on limp wristed attempts at comic caper cliches that are ineptly done with no drive or impact. It's just a waste of everyone's time for all concerned.

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."

I saw this movie when it came out in the theaters and I was a fan of the Donnie & Marie Show...However, even though I was only 15 when I saw it, I was shocked and disappointed at how bad this film was. It was so bad, I was embarrassed for them and I walked out of the movie half way through.

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!

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.

Alright...so it's a 70's nightmare by some standards, but it's Donnie and Marie! You gotta love it lookin' at it from a 21st century standpoint. This is the goofy stuff Austin Powers was built on! And to think that they got away with this brand of humor on G-rated material! Also take note of the very clever and difficult task of using 5 bumbling villains instead of the standard one or two. Again, Austin Powers owes a lot to the precedents set by a flick like this and I for one am fallin' in love again!

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.

OK so I might be a tad biased in saying that I really liked this film as I am a huge Osmond fan!! But it was really funny. I enjoyed seeing Donny and Marie interact they have such amazing chemistry working as a brother and sister team. Being only 19 a lot of people think it is odd that someone my age likes The Osmonds, but The Osmonds are so incredibly talented and I really admire them, they are awesome!! Donny and Marie have amazing voices, if only all the famous singers these days could sing half as good as The Osmonds. I loved every song they sang in the movie. If anyone happens to read this checkout Donny's cd called "What I Mean't To Say", it just shows what a wonderful singer he truly is.

So the movie was a little hokey... I know "I" really enjoyed it. Right up there with GREASE with Olivia Newton John and John Travolta! Seriously! Anything Donny and Marie did back then was something to talk about. I wish they could have continued on with the Donny and Marie talk Show that was out a couple years ago. That was one of the high lights of my day. Good Clean Humor.

Going Coconuts I remember, introduced his wife for the first time. I thought that was pretty clever. I'm thinking they could have included more of her really. The song "Falling in Love" was great. That happened to be on one of their albums. I remember playing it until the needle broke...

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.

I remember this movie from when I was only 5 years old. I went to it in California and got to met Donnie and Marrie. I have seen it only 2 times and wish I could find it again. I am glad I found info here. Everyone should see this cute, funny, family movie. This movie is a timeless classic. I hope my son will get to see it himself. Donnie and Marrie did a great Job and OH so cute. I cant believe that not many people have even heard about this movie. I have been looking online forever for a copy of it. If you have not seen this movie you must watch it if you can find a copy. I think Donnei and Marrie should have done more movies besides this one. They always will remain great and such wonderful performers.

True, this film bombed at the box office. I'm living in Hawaii now, and I'm sure no one under 40 even remembers it.

That being said, to be able to see Honolulu back in the day is priceless; that shot of the Oceana Floating Chinese Restaurant was awesome.

As for the film. It's entertaining, pretty standard plot though a bit uneven because Khigh Diegh simply steals the show as the villain, leaving the peformances of such greats as Ken Mars and Ted fricking' Cassidy and Howard "Oddjob" Sakata in the dust. They just never gelled together because the tone was so uneven with these villains.

And then there's poor Donny, who's used to being portrayed as an idiot on his show, now has to be the big jerk of an older brother. This was a bad choice, but it did make Marie's character that much more likable.

And then there's the music. Bland, lifeless and a great disservice to the duo that brought us Puppy Love and Paper Roses. That "little bit county" and "little bit rocknroll" was nowhere to be found here. If only they let the Osmonds do what they do best and just make music.