First of all, lest you think otherwise after reading this review, I love the Beach Boys music. Some of their songs are among the finest of all time.
Only gets 2 stars because the music scenes in which Beach Boys songs are played are actually pretty enjoyable. Otherwise, we're looking at my first ever 0 star movie.
Because I'm old enough to have seen and heard The Beach Boys, having Paul Dano and John Cusack play Brian Wilson is beyond absurd. The movie was so 100% about Brian. It doesn't matter the actors portraying rest of the band were not believable either. Paul Giamatti was a cartoonish fool as the villainous doctor.
The back and forth shifting of time of Brian Wilson's life masked the ridiculous poorly acted story playing out on the screen. It made it kid of interesting. And, most importantly, it split the time you had to watch the two leads try in vain to be Brian Wilson. Just when you're about to throw the proverbial brick at the movie screen at Dano/Wilson, here comes Cusack/Wilson just in time to cancel the emotion.
The best part of the movie? During the closing credits, the real, thank goodness, Brian Wilson sings the song Love and Mercy. Beautiful.
Skip this movie. Listen to the albums Pet Sounds, Surf's Up, or Smile instead. And. you're welcome.
Only gets 2 stars because the music scenes in which Beach Boys songs are played are actually pretty enjoyable. Otherwise, we're looking at my first ever 0 star movie.
Because I'm old enough to have seen and heard The Beach Boys, having Paul Dano and John Cusack play Brian Wilson is beyond absurd. The movie was so 100% about Brian. It doesn't matter the actors portraying rest of the band were not believable either. Paul Giamatti was a cartoonish fool as the villainous doctor.
The back and forth shifting of time of Brian Wilson's life masked the ridiculous poorly acted story playing out on the screen. It made it kid of interesting. And, most importantly, it split the time you had to watch the two leads try in vain to be Brian Wilson. Just when you're about to throw the proverbial brick at the movie screen at Dano/Wilson, here comes Cusack/Wilson just in time to cancel the emotion.
The best part of the movie? During the closing credits, the real, thank goodness, Brian Wilson sings the song Love and Mercy. Beautiful.
Skip this movie. Listen to the albums Pet Sounds, Surf's Up, or Smile instead. And. you're welcome.