SunnyHello
Nice effects though.
Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Cody
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
irishm
I'm over 50 but I must have just missed this group's span of popularity. I do remember seeing them mentioned in "Tiger Beat" and other fan magazines back in the day when I was looking for All Things Cassidy, and wondering who they were. The last name certainly sticks with you; it's very unusual.Interesting documentary, and also very disturbing in places. I agree with the other reviewers who would have liked to see more identifying of the various brothers each time their interview clips were shown, since I wasn't familiar with which one was which, and I had trouble telling them apart.Obviously I wasn't there when any of this was going on, but I'm always a little disturbed when families "pile on" to a deceased member and accuse him/her of various transgressions. Whether or not it's true (and I'm not saying it's not), it would have been better to have had this come out after they were all adults but when their father was still alive, so he could at least have had an opportunity to offer his side of the story. That goes for the abuse allegations (many of which were apparently witnessed) as well as what happened to all the money the group earned over their brief but successful career.Worth a look to anyone who remembers them (and isn't afraid of getting their childhood memories messed with) or anyone who's into retro pop.
redchowdog
All families have a negative past. No one is perfect. The thing about the Cowsills is that they have musical genius, and made it into our pop culture. They are so cool. I liken them to the Beach Boys in many ways. genius is always subject to abuse. It is, of course, strange to defend their dads beating them, but in some ways it is familiar. Their dads loved them and tried to make them excel. Weird, but true. They did try and produce for the rest of their lives. Tough to watch. The brothers and sister held together like glue. All I know is that is loved the story. Susan is underrated in every way. A gem.Note that the brother that played the drums is playing for Brian Wilson today. Some kind of wild karma thing, or maybe just more Brian Wilson genius. Who knows. Totally cool in any case.
Lucia
It had to be tough pulling all 7 of the surviving (at the start) Cowsills together and having it weave a coherent narrative, but in part, this documentary does that. For those of us who remember their meteoric rise, perfect harmonies and sudden dramatic disappearance, this documentary answered a lot of questions. Contrary to Cousin Brucie's theory that the music industry changed - they still had a huge number of fans who were left wondering what had happened to them. As musically talented as they were and still are, they could have easily gone with any changes the musical landscape had to throw at them and not only survived but thrived.I wish it had gone a little deeper in parts - their mother's part in all this was glossed over and she got off way too lightly, but maybe it was a time issue. I mean, she kicks her only daughter out of the house for surviving an attempted rape by her father? Stood around smoking while the father beat all of his sons bloody? Who does that? The woman had the best escape route in history (the marketable talent of her kids, which was impressive), and she didn't take it to protect them from the brutality? We never understand why.So, for what it did cover, I found this to be a well produced and very interesting documentary. Answered a lot of questions. Just not all.
Joanna Folino
Wonderful documentary by Louise Palanker that chronicles the oft posed but rarely answered question: What happened to The Cowsills? The music cleverly used throughout the film tells us a lot without trying to but what is especially refreshing is that the film allows the story to unfold naturally (and this is so important to this kind of story) in the family's own words. I never get the feeling that the filmmaker intrudes upon the story in any way. The music is a large asset to the film because it was truly refreshing and creative. Interesting insert by Shirley Jones who played the mother in the televised version aka The Partridge Family. I often wondered why TV executives did not just let The Cowsills play themselves on a televised version. This would have been a successful reality TV show had the Cowsills happened today. Brought to mind another greatly talented family group, The Jackson Five with a similar issue of paternal bullying and worse. At times shockingly revealing, the film shows what being a family is truly about, dysfunction, tragedy and all. Don't miss it.
