Jonah (Paul Simon) is an aging rock star trying to put together a new album in the face of an indifferent record label and a talentless producer. At the same time, he's struggling to save his failing marriage.
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Title: One-Trick Pony (1980)
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1 nomination.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Paul Simon | ... | Jonah | |
| Blair Brown | ... | Marion | |
| Rip Torn | ... | Walter Fox | |
| Joan Hackett | ... | Lonnie Fox | |
| Allen Garfield | ... | Cal van Damp (as Allen Goorwitz) | |
| Mare Winningham | ... | Modeena Dandridge | |
| Michael Pearlman | ... | Matty Levin | |
| Lou Reed | ... | Steve Kunelian | |
| Steve Gadd | ... | Danny Duggin | |
 |
Eric Gale | ... | Lee-Andrew Parker |
|
|
Tony Levin | ... | John DiBatista |
|
|
Richard Tee | ... | Clarence Franklin |
| Harry Shearer | ... | Bernie Wepner | |
| Kate Pierson | ... | Herself (as The B-52s) | |
| Fred Schneider | ... | Himself (as The B-52s) | |
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
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Storyline
Jonah (Paul Simon) is an aging rock star trying to put together a new album in the face of an indifferent record label and a talentless producer. At the same time, he's struggling to save his failing marriage.
Plot Keywords:
hare krishna | topless female nudity | record | failing marriage | hairy chest |Taglines:
Rock 'n' roll will give you some laughs...but it won't do you any favors.Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
3 October 1980 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Cyrkowy kucyk See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$150,809, 5 October 1980Gross USA:
$843,215Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$843,215Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Lonnie Fox: Is that what we're doing, sort of fucking?
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Written by Ricky Wilson and Fred Schneider
Performed by The B-52's
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Jonah takes his son to see "The Empire Strikes Back." At the time, Paul Simon was dating Carrie Fisher, who stars in Empire Strikes Back as Princess Leia. See more »Goofs
When Jonah and Matty practice baseball in the park, the ball is returned to Jonah by someone obviously taller than eight-year-old Matty. See more »Quotes
Jonah: Well, what was I supposed to say? "Yes, Walter, I am sort of fucking your wife"?Lonnie Fox: Is that what we're doing, sort of fucking?
See more »
Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: The Awakening/One-Trick Pony/The Stunt Man/The First Deadly Sin (1980) See more »Soundtracks
Rock LobsterWritten by Ricky Wilson and Fred Schneider
Performed by The B-52's
See more »
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First things first: Paul Simon is a brilliant songwriter, but a lousy actor. He was absolutely dreadful in "Annie Hall," but at least that was a brief performance, clearly done as a lark for Woody Allen.
I'm not sure what, exactly, this movie was supposed to be. Was it a straight drama? A satire on the music business? A conjecture as to what Simon's career would have been like had "Sounds of Silence" been his only hit? All of they above? In any case, it's not a bad movie. Simon's scriptwriting is actually quite a bit more astute than his acting. But mostly, it's a formless vanity project, mostly a vehicle for Simon to show off his formidable guitar playing/songwriting skills...and, it must be said, his 40-year-old body (through plentiful shirtless and open-shirt scenes), which I have to admit is quite impressive, especially given his short stature.
Simon is actually quite sexy in this movie: the sad-sack, world-weary persona he affects (or maybe it's genuine) somehow really works for him. And I loved the inside joke of his character encountering a poster for "The Empire Strikes Back," aka the movie that Simon's then-girlfriend, Carrie Fisher, was starring in around the same time "One Trick Pony" was being filmed.
Blair Brown is perfectly decent as the Simon-equivalent's ex-wife, although Ms. Brown has subsequently said she dislikes the movie and doesn't wish to discuss it.