Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys (1990) (TV)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Michael Switzer

Writers (WGA):

Steven Gaines (book)
Charles Rosin (written by)

Release Date:

29 April 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Plot:

Dramatization looks at the tumultuous relationship that existed between rock group The Beach Boy's Brian and Dennis Wilson and their father, Murry. It also examines their struggles with drugs and alcohol.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Book | Based On Novel

Cast

Bruce Greenwood	...	Dennis Wilson
Greg Kean	...	Brian Wilson
Arlen Dean Snyder	...	Murry
Casey Sander	...	Mike Love
Bo Foxworth	...	Carl Wilson
Linda Dona	...	Karen Lamm
Laura Leigh Hughes
Wendy Kaplan	...	Marilyn Wilson
Dorothy Dells	...	Audree Wilson
Andrew Myler	...	Al Jardine
J. Bill Jones	...	Bill
Billy Vera	...	Sal
Robert Lee	...	Bruce Johnston / Heroes and Villains
Maya Lebenzon	...	Crystal
Kelly Bratten	...	Tinda

Also Known As:

Heroes and Villains

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Leonard Hill Films

Trivia:

During the scene that amalgamates the story of the recording of Pet Sounds and Smile, Brian Wilson suggests to Mike Love that if he doesn't like the music then he can "collaborate with Pop on The Many Moods of Murry Wilson." The Many Moods of Murry Wilson was an album of schmaltzy instrumentals that the Wilson Brothers' father released in 1967, which includes two instrumentals written by Murry's plumber friend, a remake of The Beach Boys' "The Warmth of The Sun," and Beach Boy Al Jardine's "Italia," among others.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the movie, Brian Wilson is portrayed as obese, bearded, and refusing to leave his bed as early as 1967, listening to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on headphones all day. In reality, despite his Smile project being scrapped and even though he wasn't as involved in the Beach Boys as he had been before, Brian was still very much a part of the group, very actively writing, producing, and performing on the records until the mid-1970s.

Good film, bad hair

This film is currently running on cable (Nov. 2004) and I had not seen it previously. From articles I have recently read about the Wilson family, the depiction of their relationships is on target. However, trying to cram so many years of Beach Boys history into 90 minutes is too difficult. So of course, the writer focused on key conflicts which make for interesting TV, but left out a lot of the intervening story. The years go by way too fast, almost confusingly. I felt the best acting was done by the actors portraying Murray and Dennis Wilson...very believable and intense. However, as the movie progressed I became more and more distracted by the changing hair styles and some of the very poor facial hair creations (especially for Brian). My son and I started laughing whenever a new "bad hair day" began. Interesting trivia...the executive producer is "Steve Dahl" -- could this be the shock rock jock who burned disco records in Chicago back in '79 or so?