Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Woodyanders Late, great character actor Ray Sharkey gives a sensationally dynamic, throughly brazen and completely on the money bravura performance as shrewd dude late 50's rock'n'roll hustler/producer/ manager/songwriter/all-around shyster sleaze-ball extraordinaire Vinnie Vacarri, who's got everything but the requisite good lucks to cut it as a teen scream sensation. Resigned to this bitter fact, Vinnie instead decides to groom callow, but promising handsome lads Paul Land and Peter Gallagher into fluffy bubblegum teen pop idol sensations so he can vicariously live through their monumental successes. Vinnie transforms raunchy slob Land into an irresistibly dreamy, well-mannered Adonis. Vinnie pulls off an even more miraculous metamorphosis with Gallagher, a klutzy busboy who under Vinnie's masterful tutelage becomes a devastatingly hunky stuff muffin on wheels. Alas, Vinnie's ego and over-controlling nature skyrocket along with his newfound popularity and teeming bank account, leading to inevitable conflicts and Vinnie's painful downward spiral back into the dismal obscurity he started from.Loosely based on the real-life story of legendary South Philadelphia pop music impresario Robert Marcucci (the man who discovered both Fabian and Frankie Avalon; he gets a "technical adviser" credit for this picture), Taylor Hackford's terrifically tart rock bio is more notable not for what it does, but for what it bravely and commendably avoids doing. Although set in the much sentimentalized 50's, Hackford's boldly unromanticized movie certainly isn't some plasticky rosy nostalgia piece. Instead Hackford, working from Edward Di Lorenzo's smart, cheeky, astutely observed script, offers a tantalizingly tawdry warts'n'all depiction of the blithely amoral behind-the-scenes music business wheeling and dealing: payola, groupies, wheedling, backstabbing and betrayal, sneaky advanced promotion tactics, rock music as strictly a hot marketable commodity to make money off of -- y'know, all that tasty lowdown dirty stuff that goes on backstage that the record-buying public isn't supposed to know about.Moreover, the songs and on-stage performances are both top-notch: Veteran songwriter Jeff Barry penned the bouncy, moony, incredibly perky and catchy tunes while Denny Terrio did the vital, mildly lewd, daringly impertinent and provocative dance choreography. The acting is across-the-board excellent as well: Land and Gallagher (the latter also does his own strikingly fine singing) are amiably wide-eyed and convincing, while Joe Pantoliano as Vinnie's loyal songwriter best friend, Tovah Feldshuh as a canny, demanding teen mag editor, Olympia Dukakis as Vinnie's loving mom, Richard Bright (Al Neri in all three "Godfather" films) as Ray's ineffectual loser uncle, and everyone's favorite Brady girl Maureen McCormick as an eminently desirable teen zine writer acquit themselves superbly in supporting roles. Ultimately, it's nonetheless still Ray Sharkey's show all the way: forcefully projecting a certain low cunning, oozing scintillating reptilian charisma from every vibrantly oily pore, dressed to the nines in sharp suits, perpetually on the make and furiously talking a dazzling line in rhythmic rat-a-tat-tat pitter-patter bulls**t, Sharkey's spot-on, positively electrifying characterization deservedly nabbed him a Golden Globe Award and now serves as a sterling reminder of just how remarkably tragic his untimely AIDS-related death truly is. Rest in peace Mr. Sharkey and thank you for all your wonderful performances.

Dameandrea This movie is one of my all time favorites. Ray Sharkey and Peter Gallagher were amazing. The songs were great, in fact I use to own the sound track. To this day I know the words to every song. It was clear from the first time I saw the movie that Peter would go on to have longevity. I wish I knew what happened to Paul Land. He made a really good Tommy Dee. I saw the movie the other day and I still find myself having as much fun as I did when I saw it on Cable in 1981. Oh yeah Joe Pantiliano (Bad Boys, Sopranos) made a lasting impression as well. Great acting, fun for all. It is a must see for anyone with a dream. ( smile)

valkyrie911 We loved this movie! I loved it years later and special ordered the soundtrack on vinyl. Now I'm trying to get it on cd. Impossible I think. Peter Gallagher was hot as "Fabian" and the music scenes were real, not Hollywood musical crap. This is a very moving film about a man who spends his life making the careers of others only to get left behind as they move up the food chain. Talented himself but didn't have "the look" that sold records. Ray Sharky died of aids yrs later, actually did some work while he had hiv and looked it. This is probably his best work. I have always been a movie buff (still dream of directing) and I can remember the Ebert and Roeper review of this film. It was their sleeper hit of the week. I remember if vividly because that's when I learned about the term "sleeper" referencing films. It was a 2 thumbs up and HBO played it constantly. HBO was limited back then and this was always on and we watched it every chance we could!

Poseidon-3 On the heels of "Grease" (which created a brief wave of '50's nostalgia), but at the same basic time as "Can't Stop the Music" (which was a glitzy, ridiculous bust) this unusual semi-musical film made it's debut and sort of drifted into obscurity afterwards. The story showcases the exploits of Sharkey, a songwriter with drive and creativity to spare, who desperately wants success in the music business, but realizes that he doesn't have what it takes physically to make it. He plucks a slightly more attractive kid (Land) out of a local band and forges him into a singing sensation, planning each detail and exacting control over him. Once Land is solidly in place, Sharkey starts in with young Gallagher to repeat his success (partially to prove himself to his own father.) Feldshuh is a teen magazine editor who finds herself caught up in the hoopla of these prefab idols and in Sharkey's enthusiasm. The film has several things going for it, not the least of which is Sharkey's terrific performance. He is completely believable and compelling in the role, his charisma taking the story a long way. The always reliable Feldshuh (who recently made a minor splash in "Kissing Jessica Stein") is saddled with a pretty demeaning role, yet manages to get in a few decent moments. There are several moderately recognizable faces in the cast who do nice jobs (including a nearly unrecognizable Pantoliano.) Land, who showed promise in this film, somehow completely petered out shortly after, as did Pec, who makes an impression as Sharkey's mobster-like father. Gallagher (playing a 16-year-old at 25!) is also showcased to good effect, despite the occasional silliness of the material and a lot of make-up. What keeps the film from becoming fully satisfying is the limited period detail (mostly just some cars, a few poodle skirts and some fun knit tops and peg legged pants), the predictability of the story (a manager who creates stars and then loses them to their own ego is hardly a fresh concept!) and the sometimes disjointed flow of the script (ironically, this is due mostly to the decision to present the numbers intact....many viewers will appreciate this, but it leaves little room for characterization and connecting plot points.) Characters appear and disappear and have sudden changes of attitude. However, the film is not really deep enough to have allowed for a longer running time. Also, the numbers are more along the lines of the '80's than the early '60's. This doesn't mean they aren't entertaining....just not accurate. They are sort of early '60's song run through an early '80's filter. Adding to the camp factor are McCormick (trying to escape her "Brady" stigma as a tarty journalist) and Merv Griffin's favorite dancer Terrio as the choreographer of the decidedly un-'60's numbers. Despite Sharkey's romance with Feldshuh, there is a somewhat homoerotic feel to his obsession with the boys. Sadly, in real life, Sharkey died of AIDS in 1993. Director Hackford would later direct the blockbuster "An Officer and a Gentleman" which also dealt with life makeovers.