BEYOND THE SEA is like being a dinner guest, where after the meal the host insists on entertaining you with a few funny stories. Then his celebrity impersonations. After he sings a few standards while accompanying himself on the piano, you impatiently look at your watch and announce that it is getting late -- but first he insists that you just have to see his tap dancing routine. When he mentions he once studied mime, you start looking for a blunt instrument. Somewhere it has become clear that he isn't trying to entertain you, but that you are there for his benefit; a captive audience for his one-man show. In theory, BEYOND THE SEA, sets out to prove that 60's pop singer Bobby Darin was a wonderful guy, a great talent and a legendary entertainer, but it quickly becomes clear that it's real agenda is to prove that Kevin Spacey is a wonderful guy, a great talent and a legendary entertainer. Yes, BEYOND THE SEA is "The Bobby Darin Story," but very quickly Mr. Darin gets upstaged as "An Evening with Kevin Spacey" takes over.
Watching the movie, it isn't clear whether you should admire Spacey for his ambition, enthusiasm and sheer showmanship, or be silently appalled by his rampant egotism. And while he does a good job as the director and the writer and the star and as one of the twenty-one listed producers, he doesn't do a great job as any of them. He doesn't embarrass himself by any means, yet the film never even comes close to blowing the audience away.
It is in casting himself as Darin that Spacey most puts himself on the line. At age 45, he portrays Darin from his teens until his death at 37, and Spacey makes little attempt to adjust his appearance accordingly. Early on, someone points out that he is too old to be playing Darin, but he replies that he is Darin and therefore can't be too old to play himself. It is one of the gimmicks of the film that Spacey is directing himself playing Darin who in the film is directing a film about himself. Thus there is an attempt to juggle reality and theatrical artifice as a means of disguising the obvious, that Spacey is just wrong for the part. And worse, he doesn't even try to disappear into the character. He wants us to know that he is Kevin Spacey and is only pretending to be Bobby Darin. While he looks like he possibly could be Darin's distant cousin and his singing is surprisingly good, Spacey's appearance, voice and mannerisms just aren't going to fool anyone who even has the vaguest memory of the real Bobby Darin.
Taking Bobby Darin out of the equation, the film isn't all that bad. The supporting cast (John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Caroline Aaron) is solid, though Kate Bosworth's interpretation of Sandra Dee lacks any of that actress' trademark sparkle. The Hollywood clichés are all there (star haunted by his past; lovers torn apart by rival careers; the struggle up the ladder, the career slump and the triumphant comeback, etc.), but Spacey handles them adroitly by playing with the timeline and indulging in fantasy scenes. And Spacey obviously enjoys his little camera tricks and theatrical flourishes, such as the interaction between the adult Bobby and Bobby as a child. (Wisely Spacey allowed the talented William Ullrich to play the Young Bobby, rather than dropping to his knees to play the role himself.)
But, it still comes back to Bobby Darin; during the musical numbers, you can't help but to suspect that Darin could have done it all so much better. And, though most people would argue that Spacey is the better actor (debatable, to be sure), even in the dramatic moments you might wonder whether Spacey has the same innate charm that Darin so casually invested in his occasional acting performances. So, while it is indeed a pleasure watching Spacey having so much fun singing and dancing and unexpectedly playing a character who actually has charisma, something rare in his career; the film has a ALL ABOUT EVE strangeness to it. Spacey's the understudy whose reverential praise of the star seems sincere, but self serving and calculated.
Watching the movie, it isn't clear whether you should admire Spacey for his ambition, enthusiasm and sheer showmanship, or be silently appalled by his rampant egotism. And while he does a good job as the director and the writer and the star and as one of the twenty-one listed producers, he doesn't do a great job as any of them. He doesn't embarrass himself by any means, yet the film never even comes close to blowing the audience away.
It is in casting himself as Darin that Spacey most puts himself on the line. At age 45, he portrays Darin from his teens until his death at 37, and Spacey makes little attempt to adjust his appearance accordingly. Early on, someone points out that he is too old to be playing Darin, but he replies that he is Darin and therefore can't be too old to play himself. It is one of the gimmicks of the film that Spacey is directing himself playing Darin who in the film is directing a film about himself. Thus there is an attempt to juggle reality and theatrical artifice as a means of disguising the obvious, that Spacey is just wrong for the part. And worse, he doesn't even try to disappear into the character. He wants us to know that he is Kevin Spacey and is only pretending to be Bobby Darin. While he looks like he possibly could be Darin's distant cousin and his singing is surprisingly good, Spacey's appearance, voice and mannerisms just aren't going to fool anyone who even has the vaguest memory of the real Bobby Darin.
Taking Bobby Darin out of the equation, the film isn't all that bad. The supporting cast (John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Caroline Aaron) is solid, though Kate Bosworth's interpretation of Sandra Dee lacks any of that actress' trademark sparkle. The Hollywood clichés are all there (star haunted by his past; lovers torn apart by rival careers; the struggle up the ladder, the career slump and the triumphant comeback, etc.), but Spacey handles them adroitly by playing with the timeline and indulging in fantasy scenes. And Spacey obviously enjoys his little camera tricks and theatrical flourishes, such as the interaction between the adult Bobby and Bobby as a child. (Wisely Spacey allowed the talented William Ullrich to play the Young Bobby, rather than dropping to his knees to play the role himself.)
But, it still comes back to Bobby Darin; during the musical numbers, you can't help but to suspect that Darin could have done it all so much better. And, though most people would argue that Spacey is the better actor (debatable, to be sure), even in the dramatic moments you might wonder whether Spacey has the same innate charm that Darin so casually invested in his occasional acting performances. So, while it is indeed a pleasure watching Spacey having so much fun singing and dancing and unexpectedly playing a character who actually has charisma, something rare in his career; the film has a ALL ABOUT EVE strangeness to it. Spacey's the understudy whose reverential praise of the star seems sincere, but self serving and calculated.