OK biopic sacrifices historical accuracy
Added 10/15/2009
DAYDREAM BELIEVERS: THE MONKEES' STORY
(Canada/USA - 2000)
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
TV soundtrack: Stereo
The rise and fall of a manufactured pop group - America's answer to The Beatles - who struggled to be taken seriously as bona fide musicians.
Appropriately for a band as airbrushed and stage-managed as The Monkees, Neill Fearnley's entertaining biopic is equally airbrushed and stage-managed, dispensing with unpleasant reality (for the most part) in favor of feel-good party tricks. Ron McGee's innocuous teleplay (based on Harold Bronson's book 'Hey Hey We're the Monkees') sketches the group's history in broad narrative strokes, from the audition which brought Davy (George Stanchev), Micky (Aaron Lohr), Peter (L.B.Fisher) and Mike (Jeff Geddis) together, to the international success of their madcap TV show (used as little more than a marketing tool) and their subsequent disillusionment, sparked by management's refusal to allow them greater creative input. Events are depicted in pastel shades, rather like the TV show, but without the laughs. Peter is shown smoking pot, and the guys' bickering descends into chaos as the band falls apart (they disbanded in 1970), but the script refuses to take risks, which means viewers are short-changed by a lack of historical accuracy: For example, there's no mention of the resentment caused when Peter Tork became the first to jump ship in 1969, only a bittersweet ending which barely mentions their break-up at all.
Fans will be astonished by the physical resemblance of the actors to their real-life counterparts (except for Lohr, whose similarity to Micky Dolenz is superficial at best), and their impersonations are equally remarkable, especially during the lengthy musical interludes (including a meticulous recreation of the famous 'Daydream Believer' promo, and the opening montage of the TV show), all realized with startling accuracy. If nothing else, however, "Daydream Believers..." reminds us that The Monkees produced some of the most enduring pop songs of the 1960's (including 'Last Train to Clarksville', 'I'm a Believer' and the excellent 'All of Your Toys'), reproduced here in their entirety (the actors mime to original recordings). Devotees will either be outraged or enthralled.
NB. 'Jack Nicholson' and 'John Lennon' turn up in brief cameos, both played by uncredited actors.
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Look out, here comes... The Monkees!
Added 8/29/2009
Sure it's just a tele-movie, but the acting satisfies and this lovely little film leaves the viewer with a pleasant feeling that the band were just regular guys having fun goofing around on set, in the studio and spending time with their loved ones. Lots of music, good times and great outfits. Proud to say this was my first Amazon purchase :-)
9/10.
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Good Movie, but what's with the DVD?
Added 5/27/2007
I saw this movie on VH-1, and I was pleasantly surprised. To be perfectly frank, I thought the movie was going to feature Davy, Davy, Davy, and more Davy (sorry folks, I'm not really a big fan of Davy). I was surprised to learn that Mike had a pretty big part in this. I'm also surprised they included a character of Mike's first wife, Phyllis.
I was very disappointed when I bought the DVD. I had taped it off VH-1 the night it premiered, and then I bought the DVD for a better quality copy. For some reason that I can not begin to figure out, some of the scenes were edited. I had read the rating for this. It was rated PG-13 for drug references, but most of them were cut out. Why they did that, I have no idea.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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New Favorite Monkee
Added 5/3/2007
well, that's what happened when I watched the movie and listened to the commentaries.
Anwyay, it was a great movie, well done, and very interesting. An excellent Bio-drama. I've always been a monkee fan since I was little (during the "revival" in the 80's). I thought I was going to stop breathing when I heard they were putting this out in the summer of 00. LOL. .
Here's my take on the actors potrayal of the mOnkees
Jeff Geddis as Mike Nesmith: Acting: Great. Had the personality, did a good job. People are probably right though when they say he should have had a heavier texas accent. Looks- #1 dead ringer. The only difference was his frame. Nesmith seems to me to be much finer-boned and "scrawnier" than Geddis. But of the four boys, he looked most like his Monkee. Overall a great job in all aspects of potraying Nez.
L.B. Fisher as Peter Tork: I was pleased. Great acting, great potrayal of the REAL Tork (not the one we saw on the show, which was really nothing like his real personality). Looks: Definitely #2 closest look-alike in the show. Great performance. Too bad they couldn't have somehow given him killer dimples. Sigh.. oh well... guess makeup can only do SO much, right?
Aron Lohr as Mickey Dolenz: My favorite potrayal in the movie. Yes, he doesn't look that much like Dolenz, but how easy would it be to find a ringer for Mickey? I mean, come on, Dolenz had one of the most unique faces I've ever seen! You can't really expect them to be able to find a dead ringer. Alot of people complained about the inaccuracy of the hair (season 1 vs Season 2) They say DOlenz should have not been potrayed the whole time in wild curls. I for one am not gong to blame the producers of DDB. I mean, when i was little I thought of Mickey as the "not so good looking" monkee. I now know I was mostly thinking of season 1. His earlier hair style was NOT flattering at ALL. I for one am not going to blame them for not reproducing it. Dolenz's natural wild curls (potrayed in the movie very realistically) were MUCh more suited to that unique face. Anyway, have to say he's #3 in he look-alike ranking. But his acting and potrayal of the Zany monkee is so perfect that you forget his looks and really believe your watching Mickey. Just listen to Dolenz's commentary and you'll see that Lohr got the personality spot on. Sorry Peter, if Mickey had've looked like Lohr, he would have DEFINITELY been my favorite Monkee heartthrob. LOL
Stanchev as Davy Jones. sigh.. That choice is the one thing I wish I could change about this movie. Surely there is SOME cutie short 17 year old (the age Jones actually LOOKED when he was a Monkee) in England that can act as well as Stanchev, and look a whole lot more like Jones. Stanchev did nothing for me. He looked over 30, and as I said, Jones as a monkee could've passed for 17. He wasn't cute at all. You'd think Davy's breathtaking looks (the thing he was so famous for) would be a HIGH priority in casting, but they let us down here. I give him Kudos for replicating Davy's dancing, and that's about it. I guess I got ENOUGH of an impression of shortness from him. too.
So, I reccomend this movie to any Monkee lover or biopic fan. IT's really well scripted, and except for the casting of Jones, it's a great movie anyway. The commentaries are Great. I was always in love with Peter, (to this day I have a thing for killer dimples and a boyish innocent grin) but after listening to all the commentaries and getting an idea of their real personalities, I think I would have enjoyed being around Dolenz alot more. I LOVED his wacky comments, and the way he kept saying "What a great looking kid! Wow, where did they find this kid" in reference to Lohr. LOL one of the other real monkees even said "Mickey must be happy with his casting." Yes, Lohr was kinda hot as the high-energy monkee. Yes, cuter than the Real M.D. But if Dolenz had always had his hair natural, he'd have been alot cuter too, so I'll give him some credit.
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OK film, but commentaries make it worthwhile
Added 4/30/2007
I agonized over what rating to give DAYDREAM BELIEVERS, because while it's fun to watch, it has some serious shortcomings too. To start with some of the positives, it's an enjoyable and decently produced film, and the actors playing the Monkees certainly look and act their parts well. I like too that the decision was made to use the original audio recordings of the group when the actors re-created their musical performances.
However, if you listen to the commentaries on the DVD by the director and three of the Monkees - Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, and Davy Jones - you discover that there are a lot of inaccuracies in the film. Some are minor, such as showing all four Monkees together almost all the time, when in reality some were absent in certain situations. But some errors are unforgivable, such as taking a moment of major conflict between Jones and Tork, which actually happened, and creating a totally fictional background for it! However, the consensus seems to be that despite the inaccuracies, the overall gist of the Monkees' story shown here is true. Also, at 91 minutes long, there's a rather rushed feeling to DAYDREAM BELIEVERS, so it mostly just hits the highlights.
The interviews of Jones, Dolenz, and Tork on the DVD are interesting too, and give updates on what the three of them have been up to since the Sixties. The film itself is weak on this, and should at least have dealt with the breakup of the group in 1970, rather than tacking on a fictional "happy ending" and stopping there. In sum, thanks to the commentaries and interviews I recommend this DVD, but without them I would hesitate to. So does it really deserve 4 stars? OK, so it's not a CASABLANCA or a 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, but still it's a fun nostaligia trip if you care at all about the Monkees.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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OK biopic sacrifices historical accuracy
Added 10/15/2009
DAYDREAM BELIEVERS: THE MONKEES' STORY
(Canada/USA - 2000)
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
TV soundtrack: Stereo
The rise and fall of a manufactured pop group - America's answer to The Beatles - who struggled to be taken seriously as bona fide musicians.
Appropriately for a band as airbrushed and stage-managed as The Monkees, Neill Fearnley's entertaining biopic is equally airbrushed and stage-managed, dispensing with unpleasant reality (for the most part) in favor of feel-good party tricks. Ron McGee's innocuous teleplay (based on Harold Bronson's book 'Hey Hey We're the Monkees') sketches the group's history in broad narrative strokes, from the audition which brought Davy (George Stanchev), Micky (Aaron Lohr), Peter (L.B.Fisher) and Mike (Jeff Geddis) together, to the international success of their madcap TV show (used as little more than a marketing tool) and their subsequent disillusionment, sparked by management's refusal to allow them greater creative input. Events are depicted in pastel shades, rather like the TV show, but without the laughs. Peter is shown smoking pot, and the guys' bickering descends into chaos as the band falls apart (they disbanded in 1970), but the script refuses to take risks, which means viewers are short-changed by a lack of historical accuracy: For example, there's no mention of the resentment caused when Peter Tork became the first to jump ship in 1969, only a bittersweet ending which barely mentions their break-up at all.
Fans will be astonished by the physical resemblance of the actors to their real-life counterparts (except for Lohr, whose similarity to Micky Dolenz is superficial at best), and their impersonations are equally remarkable, especially during the lengthy musical interludes (including a meticulous recreation of the famous 'Daydream Believer' promo, and the opening montage of the TV show), all realized with startling accuracy. If nothing else, however, "Daydream Believers..." reminds us that The Monkees produced some of the most enduring pop songs of the 1960's (including 'Last Train to Clarksville', 'I'm a Believer' and the excellent 'All of Your Toys'), reproduced here in their entirety (the actors mime to original recordings). Devotees will either be outraged or enthralled.
NB. 'Jack Nicholson' and 'John Lennon' turn up in brief cameos, both played by uncredited actors.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Look out, here comes... The Monkees!
Added 8/29/2009
Sure it's just a tele-movie, but the acting satisfies and this lovely little film leaves the viewer with a pleasant feeling that the band were just regular guys having fun goofing around on set, in the studio and spending time with their loved ones. Lots of music, good times and great outfits. Proud to say this was my first Amazon purchase :-)
9/10.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Good Movie, but what's with the DVD?
Added 5/27/2007
I saw this movie on VH-1, and I was pleasantly surprised. To be perfectly frank, I thought the movie was going to feature Davy, Davy, Davy, and more Davy (sorry folks, I'm not really a big fan of Davy). I was surprised to learn that Mike had a pretty big part in this. I'm also surprised they included a character of Mike's first wife, Phyllis.
I was very disappointed when I bought the DVD. I had taped it off VH-1 the night it premiered, and then I bought the DVD for a better quality copy. For some reason that I can not begin to figure out, some of the scenes were edited. I had read the rating for this. It was rated PG-13 for drug references, but most of them were cut out. Why they did that, I have no idea.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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