Good Vibrations (GV) came highly recommended from my local liquor store attendant, an equally avid film buff. What began showing so much promise petered out by act three. I was stoked from the onset, jazzed, amped up, I mean with lines like "one of those special bonds, part pharmaceutical, part philosophical" and "a proper record collection should have track for every moment", how could I not? So act one had me all in, hook-line-and-sinker, fully ensconced in the message, meaning, and mayhem plaguing Belfast, Ireland.
However, instead of gaining momentum, it slowed considerably and this once promising "true" story became slightly stale and insipid. In reflection, understanding the genesis of my disinterest was utterly perplexing and a sizable feat. I was unaware of any one point or instance where I could ascribe fault or blame, no aha light bulb moment. Taken individually on their own merit the components or factors which led to my disappointment are paltry and would otherwise go unnoticed, but as a collective they create a wet canvas snuffing out any chance for redemption or a grand crescendo.
You know what, scratch that...there is one glaring omission, deliberate or not, is that no characters aside from Terri Hooley (I know it's his semi-biographic story) were permitted to develop, banished to forgettable cursory roles. It was all him to the exclusion of others. So the few remote opportunities to develop the pompous Terri possibly ingratiating him enough to grow endearing to us and welcome him in with respect to his laurels was assuaged if not totally lost.
And lastly, to butcher and borrow from the Samuel Clemens stratum of brilliant quips: to say the movie score was better than it sounded is putting it mildly. I think he said of this after a German Opera and he was quoted as saying the music was better than it sounded. At any rate, terrible selection of music and I know they had to be true to the time and place, but shoot, they were lifeless songs and listless lyrics. In the end, it was rather unremarkable and for every Terri Hooley, they were hundreds scattered and mooching about. I would like to tip my hat to his bravado, courage, resourcefulness, and unwavering dedication to getting the vinyl in the right hands and played kudos to the man.
Rate: 52 / 100
However, instead of gaining momentum, it slowed considerably and this once promising "true" story became slightly stale and insipid. In reflection, understanding the genesis of my disinterest was utterly perplexing and a sizable feat. I was unaware of any one point or instance where I could ascribe fault or blame, no aha light bulb moment. Taken individually on their own merit the components or factors which led to my disappointment are paltry and would otherwise go unnoticed, but as a collective they create a wet canvas snuffing out any chance for redemption or a grand crescendo.
You know what, scratch that...there is one glaring omission, deliberate or not, is that no characters aside from Terri Hooley (I know it's his semi-biographic story) were permitted to develop, banished to forgettable cursory roles. It was all him to the exclusion of others. So the few remote opportunities to develop the pompous Terri possibly ingratiating him enough to grow endearing to us and welcome him in with respect to his laurels was assuaged if not totally lost.
And lastly, to butcher and borrow from the Samuel Clemens stratum of brilliant quips: to say the movie score was better than it sounded is putting it mildly. I think he said of this after a German Opera and he was quoted as saying the music was better than it sounded. At any rate, terrible selection of music and I know they had to be true to the time and place, but shoot, they were lifeless songs and listless lyrics. In the end, it was rather unremarkable and for every Terri Hooley, they were hundreds scattered and mooching about. I would like to tip my hat to his bravado, courage, resourcefulness, and unwavering dedication to getting the vinyl in the right hands and played kudos to the man.
Rate: 52 / 100