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joannaconnell
Reviews
Family Band: The Cowsills Story (2011)
A great story that still hasn't been told
I am a fan of the Cowsills' music and am fascinated by their story -- but this disappointing and disjointed documentary is hard to follow and leaves many basic questions unanswered.
The film makes it very difficult to tell the brothers apart, in either the vintage clips and photos or in the later interviews. More biographical information early on (with each kid's birth year, birth order and role in the band) would have been helpful.
The filmmakers don't give us enough material about the band's heyday but instead devote about half the running time -- too much, in my opinion -- to the later lives of the siblings. By the end, the viewer knows a great deal about the personal drama within the family but doesn't have clear answers to these obvious questions:
-Why were mother Barbara and sister Susan added to the band? Was it the dad's idea -- and if so, where did the inspiration come from? Was it the idea of a record company executive? Was it a combination of the two?
-Did the boys try to resist?
-Did Barbara have any previous experience singing?
-What's the real story of the Cowsills and "The Partridge Family"? In the doc, Shirley Jones gives a very simple answer why the Cowsills didn't star in the series. But there's another account: that the producers thought the boys were too old and only wanted Susan. Yet another version has it that ABC was ready to do a sitcom starring the Cowsills but wanted Jones to play Barbara -- and the family said no.
-What did the Cowsill kids think of "The Partridge Family" TV show? What did they think of the Partridge Family recording of "I Really Want to Know You" -- the only song recorded by both bands?
-Barbara Cowsill died in 1985 at the relatively young age of 56. Had she been ill? Did her death bring the family together? Was there an outpouring from the entertainment community?
I hope someday we'll get a more complete look at this very intriguing music act!