Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

zofos This film and its sequel "Stardust" are really a thinly-disguised version of John Lennon's rise to stardom with "The Beatles." It stars 1970s British heartthrob David Essex as Jim MacClaine, but this first film in the series is desperately slow and repetitive. It involves Essex going from one dead-end job to another, getting laid again and again and again with various anonymous girls.He goes from dropping out of school and being a deckchair attendant to working in a holiday camp (where he befriends a surprisingly sleazy Ringo Starr) to finally working in a fairground.David Essex has the looks of a movie star, but not the charisma or acting talent. He's a bit wooden at times and he hardly sings at all, which is where his real talent lies.The film does capture the grimness of post-war 1950s Britain well and there is some commentary on class, but the script has no structure whatsoever. It's as aimless as its hero.The sex scenes are quite graphic and there is a morally dubious scene where Essex forces himself on an underage girl (Ringo asks Essex if he's been "gardening" again from the grass stains on his trousers afterwards).There are many cameos from real pop stars. From the aforementioned Ringo Starr, we also have another famous drummer in Keith Moon from "The Who" (he was the music supervisor on the film) and Billy Fury.Many future stars of British television are also visible here in supporting roles. Robert Lindsay, of "My Family" and "Citizen Smith" fame, appears as the best friend of David Essex and he's a constant reminder of what the Essex character could have become if he had gone on to college like him. Karl Howman is also here and in the sequel, he would go on to star in "Brush Strokes" and the series of "Flash" floor-cleaner TV commercials that seems to have become his career of late.The sequel is a big improvement as things actually start happening, although it is still a clichéd rock star's rise-and-fall story with conmen managers, hangers-on and drug abuse thrown in for good measure.I wouldn't recommend wasting your time watching this. Turner Classic Movies described this as a "superb movie." I would strongly disagree with that. I found it extremely boring. It moves at a snail's pace.I was surprised to see the name of renowned producer David Puttnam in the credits. He must have been just learning his trade and probably didn't know what he was doing. He would go on to produce far better movies like the Oscar-winning "The Killing Fields" and "Midnight Express." The film makes several strange references to John Wayne. From Wayne's "That'll Be The Day" line from "The Searchers" (it also inspired a Buddy Holly song) being the title of the film, to name of the David Essex character being taken from Wayne's "Big Jim McClain" movie, albeit with a different spelling.

Woodyanders Set in a plausibly dreary and defiantly anti-nostalgic late 50's era Britian, this grimly serious kitchen sink drama relates the turbulent up and down tale of one Jim MacLaine (superbly played by David Essex of "Rock On" fame), a discontent working class bloke who wants to be a rock star so he can successfully transcend the dismally unrewarding banality of plain old normal bourgeoisie existence and live a free, spontaneous, not attached to any heavy responsibility life. Jim drops out of school and moves out of his mother's house. He winds up going nowhere slowly, selling beach chairs on the arid shore in order to scrape by, until a shrewd smoothie busboy (Ringo Starr in a surprisingly excellent performance) takes the shy, naive Jim under his wing and teaches the heretofore sweet, guileless lad the fine art of picking up girls and gypping patrons at the local carnival of their spare change. Pretty soon Jim degenerates into a cold, heartless womanizing cad who's incapable of commitment and, as long as he refuses to settle down, just a few steps away from the fame he seeks.Loosely based on John Lennon's actual early exploits, with an outstanding golden oldies soundtrack and a rough, seedy, marvelously unglamorous and unromanticized depiction of the 50's, "That'll Be the Day" offers an engrossingly seamy and minutely detailed evocation of drab blue collar life, chiefly centering on the pertinent role rock music plays in serving as an outlet for overcoming the horrid ordinariness of said average lifestyle. Claude Whatham's astutely observant direction delivers a striking wealth of piquant incidental touches -- the ghastly shabbiness of Jim's cheap apartment, the faulty, out-of-tune speakers at a rundown dance hall, the grungy sleaziness of the fairground Jim works at, an incredibly cheerless wedding reception -- which in turn brings a splendidly gritty, lived-in conviction to Ray Connelly's meticulous, unsparingly downbeat script. Moreover, the acting is uniformly top-notch (Essex's finely underplayed characterization is especially strong), with commendable work turned in by Rosemary Leach as Jim's doting, concerned mother, James Booth as Jim's restless and unreliable absentee deadbeat dad, and Billy Fury as hotshot lounge singer extraordinaire Stormy Tempest. A sterling cinematic testament to rock music's undying allure and magical ability to create hope in an otherwise bleak and thankless world.

Lee Eisenberg Probably the best portrayal of the '50s rebel culture has working-class Brit Jim MacLaine (David Essex) with a chip on his shoulder - due to his father abandoning the family - and doesn't care about school; he's into rock 'n' roll. His friend Mike (Ringo Starr) is no more responsible but gets Jim some jobs. But after everything, Jim sees fit only - and I mean ONLY - to play music.Aside from the fact that this was a really good movie, I should identify that there was a sequel called "Stardust". I've never seen that one, as it's never been released on DVD. WHY NOT?! Considering how good this one was, why can't the latter get released on DVD?!

didi-5 David Essex got the lead role, through two films, in this story of a wanabee pop star who leaves his family and home life for a shot at the big time. Abandoned by his father as a child, Jim lets history repeat itself simply for his ambition - through 'That'll Be The Day', which establishes him as a musical talent with room to grow, through to the bleak 'Stardust' which focuses on the ups and downs of fame.Ray Connolly's script for TBTD is ironic and clever, and gives scope to a large number of characters you remember - Rosemary Leach and Rosalind Ayres good as Jim's mother and girlfriend, Ringo Starr much better than expected as Mike who works on the fairground and takes the impressionable and cocky Jim under his wing. Mike would develop into Jim's manager in 'Stardust', where he was played by Adam Faith.Billy Fury plays TBTD's biggest concession to a 'real pop star' as the unlikeable Stormy Tempest, while Keith Moon and Karl Howman, both in the 'Stardust' band appear briefly. Also involved in the film was the great Bonzo vocalist Viv Stanshall.'That'll Be The Day' is often cited as the better film of the two Jim MacLaine feature, but I personally prefer the overblown, stoned, egotistical character we see in the sequel. David Essex is excellent throughout the two movies, though. The soundtrack album - a huge four-sider groaning with 50s period hits and pastiches - is still well worth a listen, although precious little of it appears in this film.