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

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.

Director:

Michael Switzer

Writers:

Steven Gaines (book), Charles Rosin

Stars:

Bruce Greenwood, Greg Kean, Arlen Dean Snyder

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Foxworth	...	Marilyn Wilson (as Wendy Kaplan)
Dorothy Dells	...	Audree Wilson
Andrew Myler	...	Al Jardine
William Jones	...	Bill (as J. Bill Jones)
Billy Vera	...	Sal
Robert Lee	...	Bruce Johnston / Heroes and Villains
Maya Lebenzon	...	Crystal
Kelly Bratten	...	Tinda

Storyline

This biopic chronicles the continuing saga of the Beach Boys from 1961 to 1985. Mainly focuses on the Beach Boys resident wildman Dennis Wilson and in a slightly less capacity big brother Brian Wilson.

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Plot Keywords:

based on book | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heroes and Villains

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leonard Hill Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

In the film, Dennis Wilson is shown fully-clothed and disoriented as he walks from the street to the dock before stumbling into the water at the marina and drowning. In reality, the day he drowned, Wilson was clad only in cut-off jean shorts and had been diving in search of a photo he'd previously thrown overboard from his yacht.

User Reviews

Summer Dreams

Being a big Beach Boy fan, I was excited to see this film. But after viewing it , I wish I had never watched this smut. Everyone knows the Beach Boys had some problems, but this was ridiculous. This movie was nothing but negativity the whole way through. I found myself overwhelmed with all the crap that was being thrown at me. I also read the book it was based upon, "Heroes and Villains" by Steven Gaines, which was just more detailed crap. Both the book and the movie seem to forget the importance of the Beach Boys, and the stronghold Brian Wilson had on the music world, and focused more on the problems. Yes there were bad times, but there were good times as well, and this movie shows few if any. This is why I do not recommend this to anyone, especially Beach Boys fans. D-