The VH1 Rock and Roll Movie is a strange thing.
The one they did on the Monkees was actually pretty good, and perhaps for the same reason the rest have been so bizarre. No one in the Monkees really had a larger than life type of charisma. This is what doomed an otherwise decent attempt at Ricky Nelson’s life, and what makes this such a bizarre mess. No matter what you think about David Cassidy, he was a legitimate star, with legitimate presence and the poor sap trying to play him just isn’t going to be able to not look silly trying to replicate his charm and presence.
So why couldn’t I turn this thing off tonight.
Malcolm McDowell chewing the scenery as Jack Cassidy.
The bizarre complete omission of Shaun Cassidy. Can you legitimately tell me that as David Cassidy broods about his dead career for an hour, the fact that his less talented, less pretty brother was tearing it up didn’t merit mention?
The ultra weird last ten minutes. David admits he has father issues, and his completely dead career immediately comes to life with his performance in Blood Brothers. Now, Blood Brothers starred both Cassidys, but again the poster in the movie just says starring David Cassidy.
Then Malcolm McDowell appears from the dead to finally tell David that he loves him, perhaps because David was finally doing somewhat legitimate theater, perhaps because by this point well, why the hell not?
Finally, in a crushingly stupid finale, the real David Cassidy shows up to sing a duet of I Woke Up in Love This Morning, with the movie David Cassidy. Idiotic for two reasons:
1. It just reminds us that the movie David Cassidy can’t hold a candle to the real David Cassidy even though he’s aged thirty years or so
2. The movie David Cassidy doesn’t really sing. God knows what they expected him to do up there.
The Saving Grace: Chandra West, who is so pretty and has so much presence that she would have been a better choice to actually play Cassidy.
I really need to get out more.
