# The Beach boys Movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694 "2015-06-05T12:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/21 "2015-06-08T01:17:54Z")
[Correction as per the Wikipedia article, Electro-Theremin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Vibrations). Many will be happy to know that [The Wrecking Crew](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrecking_Crew_%28music%29) aren’t ignored. A good chunk of the film takes place in the studio when Brian is working with the Crew. They really respected him. [Here’s the studio “Good Vibrations”](https://youtu.be/Eab_beh07HU) that everyone’s heard a million times but which you only hear a tiny bit of in the film. [Here’s the amazing instrumental version](https://youtu.be/lekAYjwXbsw) with the Crew, much of which is seen being worked out and recorded. The scene in the film with the cello players was short but it blew my mind. I hear this song in a whole new way now. Brilliant! Just found this [behind-the-scenes video](https://youtu.be/9UqNvMOdhGU) of Brian and some of the Crew taking about the “Good Vibrations” recording sessions! ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/22 "2015-06-08T02:33:38Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Well, it was made on a small budget, premiered in 2014 at the Toronto Film Festival, and got released to fewer than 500 screens on the same weekend that _Insidious Chapter 3_, _Spy_, and _Entourage_ were released on more than 3000 each. It’s distributor was Roadside Attractions, which never in its history has had a movie gross $25 million and this will be no exception. It’s absolutely not a mainstream Hollywood movie. Art house is the alternative term. What I term art house movies frequently get shown at large multiplexes. You can choose another name if you like, but that won’t change any of the above. That makes me wonder if it was shown at multiplexes outside large metropolitan areas. I should have known better than to use film terminology without consulting my kids first. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/23 "2015-06-08T02:58:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It’s absolutely true, depending on your definition of [sandbox](http://www.biography.com/news/brian-wilson-beach-boys-facts). That’s not just internet chatter, either. It’s in all the biographies I’ve read. Cool! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/24 "2015-06-09T14:24:40Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I seriously doubt it will spark any interest in their music much. > > 25 years ago, in _Southern California_, The Beach Boys would do a **free** concert after a USC football game. Almost _nobody_ stayed. They had to bus in little kids to prop up in front of the stage for the cameras. > > Can’t imagine its gotten any better for them since. > [@NAF1138](#): > > Pretty much anyone who is serious about music today, in almost any mainstream genre including hip hop, will list pet sounds and one of their favorite albums of all time. This has been true since about 2005. > > It may not have filtered out of the music scene yet, but the beach boys are likely more popular today than they have been since about 1975. The lack of audience had nothing to do with people not appreciateing their genius or the kids being too young to be interested, it was because around that time their live performances were _terrible_. They couldn’t harmonize anymore, and listening to them was painful. For several years they played on the DC Mall on July 4, and people moved away from them. Well, I did, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/25 "2015-06-09T15:49:35Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > The lack of audience had nothing to do with people not appreciateing their genius or the kids being too young to be interested, it was because around that time their live performances were _terrible_. They couldn’t harmonize anymore, and listening to them was painful. For several years they played on the DC Mall on July 4, and people moved away from them. Well, I did, at least. We had a [thread about this very thing](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=324076) (the Beach Boys sounding horrible in a live performance in DC) five years ago. [This other thread from 2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=657092) documents some times when they’ve sounded pretty good, including the ephemeral 2012 reunion of the surviving Boys. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/26 "2015-06-09T16:18:42Z")
I’m kinda sick of the Beach Boys music after all their years on oldies radio - but I’m very interested in this movie. I think Paul Dano is a very good, interesting actor and am looking forward to seeing him in this film. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/27 "2015-06-09T16:38:35Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > We had a [thread about this very thing](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=324076) (the Beach Boys sounding horrible in a live performance in DC) five years ago. > > [This other thread from 2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=657092) documents some times when they’ve sounded pretty good, including the ephemeral 2012 reunion of the surviving Boys. They were the headliners at my very first rock convert in 1967. I couldn’t tell you how well they played because the girls were screaming too loudly. But I saw them again in 1973, when they had the expanded band for the Holland album. That may have been as good as they ever sounded on stage. Plus, Brian himself were there and treated us to an introduction about the girl for whom he wrote “Caroline, No.” (One of my favorite “Beach Boys” songs, even though the original single was released as by Brian Wilson solo.) I’ve seen them since as the truncated oldies group with varying results. They could have done better but in truth that’s all the audience wanted and Mike Love gave up resisting. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/28 "2015-06-11T05:43:39Z")
I saw the movie and it was amazing. Biography is not typically my thing, and the Cusack portion dealing with Dr. Landy was something of a standard biopic, but I always enjoy Cusack. The creative sessions with Dano just sparkled, though. One really felt his connection with the music, and the creation of _Pet Sounds_ was both inspired and adorable. The other Beach Boys have little presence in the movie (I’m not sure Al Jardine ever speaks), but both versions of Wilson carry the film. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/29 "2015-06-15T09:38:32Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I saw the movie and it was amazing. Biography is not typically my thing, and the Cusack portion dealing with Dr. Landy was something of a standard biopic, but I always enjoy Cusack. The creative sessions with Dano just sparkled, though. I really feel like this sets a new bar for music bio pics- and it’s a pretty high bar. The Cusack segments did play more like standard music bio fare than the Dano segments, but not exactly like the standard convention. It was a fresh take to see it all through Melinda’s eyes which kept all the Landy stuff very mysterious and even scarier. I loved the film. The only thing I had trouble with was that there was never a moment that I didn’t see John Cusack as John Cusack. Don’t get me wrong, I think he gave a great performance, I’ve just known him so well and for so very long that I had a hard time accepting him as another real life person. As fictional characters, no problem, I see John Cusack creating a character and making it his own. In this film, however, I kept seeing John Cusack when I was supposed to be seeing Brian Wilson. I couldn’t _not_ see John Cusack. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’ve seen them since as the truncated oldies group with varying results. They could have done better but in truth that’s all the audience wanted and Mike Love gave up resisting. Resisting? I don’t think Mike Love ever wanted to do anything _other than_ what he thought the audience wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/30 "2015-06-15T15:26:28Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Resisting? I don’t think Mike Love ever wanted to do anything _other than_ what he thought the audience wanted. Yeah, sadly that’s probably true. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/31 "2015-06-15T15:39:39Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The name of the film is [Love & Mercy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903657/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). It’s a small budget art house flick that will be seen by fewer people in its lifetime than saw the Avengers movie in a hour. > > It’s getting [great reviews](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_and_mercy/) and I’d like to see it. But it’s impact on the culture will be nil. I’ve heard good things about it. I missed it at SXSW but thought I might see it when it’s Houston theaters, or when it’s on Netflix. But I am curious about the modern perception of the Beach Boys. I think for a significant number of 20 and 30somethings, they are that lame band that hung out with the dorky family on Full House and made also sang Kokomo, one of the worst songs ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/32 "2015-06-15T16:16:19Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Pretty much anyone who is serious about music today, in almost any mainstream genre including hip hop, will list pet sounds and one of their favorite albums of all time. This has been true since about 2005. It has definitely become one of the go-to albums for the musically pretentious to name-check. This all started back in the 90s, I think, when Rolling Stone inexplicably started regularly featuring _Pet Sounds_ in its “best albums of all time” lists. Then it got a visual nod in _Almost Famous_ (2000). For my money, the album is overrated. Wow, it features orchestral instruments. What unimaginable genius that took! Doesn’t take much to dazzle rock critics, I reckon. I like Brian Wilson. He wrote some nice, catchy pop songs. But he ain’t Beethoven. (And don’t get me started on his plagiarisms of Chuck Berry.) The movie undertakes the monumental task of trying to make the Beach Boys seem hip. But if you’ve ever seen a Beach Boys performance from the 60s, well that just won’t wash. [A more awkward, more _square_, group has never been assembled.](https://youtu.be/roBpnbQXDsU) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/33 "2015-06-15T16:26:01Z")
Also. the movie depicts the studio musicians as being awed by the genius of Brian Wilson. But if you look at actual studio footage, [you’ll see some eye-rolling going on](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8rd53WuojE) (at 0:35). ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/34 "2015-06-15T16:44:58Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > It has definitely become one of the go-to albums for the musically pretentious to name-check. This all started back in the 90s, I think, when Rolling Stone inexplicably started regularly featuring _Pet Sounds_ in its “best albums of all time” lists. Then it got a visual nod in _Almost Famous_ (2000). > > **For my money, the album is overrated. Wow, it features orchestral instruments. What unimaginable genius that took! Doesn’t take much to dazzle rock critics, I reckon.** > I like Brian Wilson. He wrote some nice, catchy pop songs. But he ain’t Beethoven. (And don’t get me started on his plagiarisms of Chuck Berry.) > > The movie undertakes the monumental task of trying to make the Beach Boys seem hip. But if you’ve ever seen a Beach Boys performance from the 60s, well that just won’t wash. [A more awkward, more _square_, group has never been assembled.](https://youtu.be/roBpnbQXDsU) The Beatles were in awe of Brian Wilson’s talent. When Pet Sounds was released, they studied it and then got busy in the studio. A year after Pet Sounds came Sgt. Pepper. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/35 "2015-06-15T17:29:35Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > It has definitely become one of the go-to albums for the musically pretentious to name-check. This all started back in the 90s, I think, when Rolling Stone inexplicably started regularly featuring _Pet Sounds_ in its “best albums of all time” lists. Then it got a visual nod in _Almost Famous_ (2000). > > For my money, the album is overrated. Wow, it features orchestral instruments. What unimaginable genius that took! Doesn’t take much to dazzle rock critics, I reckon. Plenty of people, then and now, have hailed it as a masterpiece (including, as **Abracadebra** notes, the Beatles). And, plenty of people have found it boring and/or overrated. Both opinions have been eloquently defended here on the SDMB. See [“Pet Sounds” (1966): Why so acclaimed?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=64044) [Man, “Pet Sounds” is really overrated.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=343792) [“Pet Sounds” : Awesome Predecessor to “Sgt. Pepper,” or Vaguely Annoying?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=101061) I was thinking we’d had a more recent thread about the album, too, but if so, I can’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/36 "2015-06-15T17:52:56Z")
Thanks for those links, **Thudlow Boink**. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/37 "2015-06-15T23:44:03Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Also. the movie depicts the studio musicians as being awed by the genius of Brian Wilson. But if you look at actual studio footage, [you’ll see some eye-rolling going on](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8rd53WuojE) (at 0:35). I certainly didn’t see any eye rolling at 0:35 or anywhere else in that linked video. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/38 "2015-06-15T23:58:10Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I certainly didn’t see any eye rolling at 0:35 or anywhere else in that linked video. Yeah, the guy scrunched up his face while also bobbing his head to the music. Could mean absolutely anything. And I’m someone who doesn’t get the awesomeness of Pet Sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/39 "2015-06-16T00:31:13Z")
I think it’s easy to poke holes in albums years after their release because the music industry has obviously continued to evolve, and retroactively judging albums is a difficult thing to do. We all have a different perspective now than when the album was first released. I was born in 1962, but the first Beatles album I heard was Abbey Road. I started to dig into their catalogue and was underwhelmed by Sgt. Pepper’s. However, I realize now just how different and complex that album was upon its release. It’s a bit like saying the Model T was the worst production car ever built. I mean, may be true but look what it did for future car production. That’s probably a poor analogy, but you get my point. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694/40 "2015-06-16T01:03:31Z")
I don’t want to bash the Beach Boys. They made a lot of memorable pop songs, and I will happily sing along with them. My problem comes when people start comparing Brian Wilson to Beethoven. Based on _Pet Sounds_? Come on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-beach-boys-movie/721694.md?page=3)