Art Edwards

I really don't understand the round panning by critics. Fortunately, we trusted the trailer. Go see it. First, it is actually funny. There are so many comedies that just try too hard. This had a very light touch. There were also very nice human scenes that have little to do with humor. That the entire cast gave nice performances says to me that the direction was quite good. Very uplifting.

If I had to sum this up in one word, it would be interminable. My god, it seemed to never end. It also featured some really awful minimalist music. I don't know which Producer's nephew wrote the music, but they should think of some other art form to ruin. What absolutely killed it for me was when I looked at the history, and found that the whole set of lesbian relationships were just made up. That the Queen's husband was alive during this period, and that the Queen would never leave his bed. What that means to me is that the writers were simply not up to the task of writing a compelling script about this truly interesting, although completely non-sexual, rivalry for the Queen's attention, and for the direction of the country. Instead, they went for the cheap and easy sex scenes. The performances were fine. I'm really glad Olivia Coleman is getting some attention. I have always liked her work. Imagine the performance she would have given with a decent script.

This was a terrible missed opportunity on several levels. This seemed to be a cash-grab by some younger musicians who are legends in their own mind. The tease is the set of rather sloppy interviews with some of the actual artists from the mid- to late- 1960's in Laurel Canyon. Then there was a bait and switch to clearly inferior performances by the younger musicians. The worst of the bunch was Jakob Dylan, who has a shadow of his father's talent, but a surfeit of ego to make up for it. To my mind the most glaring example was during an interview with David Crosby when Cosby discussed 'Dylan's' reaction to the electric Tambourine Man. Dylan Jr. told Crosby he had to be more specific (like which Dylan). How embarrassing. There was simply no confusion. There was something else difficult about the movie. The contemporary performances showed me how fragile these tunes are-- they depend fundamentally on the production around them. Few of them stand up to re-interpretation. So Tambourine Man does stand up. In 1971, I saw the Byrds do an acapella version that was beautiful. But 'In My Room' was really weak without Wilson's specific arrangement. I grew up with these albums and these artists. Over time, very few grew beyond what they had done. The only outstanding example of artistic growth was not even mentioned in the movie-- Joni Mitchell. The rest seem to be stuck where they were. So we have this movie. If you want to see a great movie about this musical era, don't see this. Go see 'The Wrecking Crew.' That was truly joyful and focused on the actual artists.