Saturday, July 24, 2004
TODAY'S MOVIE
THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY (1978): NYTimes1176BestFilms. Gary Busey channels Buddy Holly in this wonderful, exuberant, biopic. There are 12 Holly numbers and they all nail you. It is a great movie. Holly had a short year career and was dead at 22 leaving a wife and child; in a plane crash on the way to a date; 'the day the music died'. (Don McLean American Pie) Evidence indicates that he was as nice a guy and as big a rock and roll genius as the film conveys. No matter. It is a triumphant performance and even the bad stuff is good.
The knowledge of 'how it ends' hangs over the entire film; it is affecting and poignant; hard to watch without a lump in the throat. There we are, rockin' and a rollin'; having a sadness in the back of it all.
Busey is just magnificent. He has had a very busy career but virtually no success like this one; mostly supporting roles and B-pics. Take a look at his website: Busey World and Busey Films. Wild.
The two other Crickets are guys who were in American Graffitti so they are familiar and comfortable members of the ensemble. There are some standout supporting parts. Conrad Janis was a real musician who was also an actor and I always looked forward to seeing him. Here, he is the prez of Coral Records who takes a chance on the boys. The scenes in the Apollo Theater where the Crickets were the first white act to appear are great. The manager (also white) is hilariously played by Dick Oneil, a stalwart character actor.
The ending is perfectly rendered. I am giving it a 4 out of Netflix5. It is not a great great movie but it is sure an impactful one. I still feel 'hot' from the tears and the laughs and the general good feelings that surround this picture. Maybe a 5? It is that good. I will see how it 'lasts'.
After I wrote this I did some research and found that the film's story did take some fast turns and shortcuts and in reality the 'real' story is even more dramatic and exciting. Take a look at the Buddy Holly Official Website. It is a great tribute to the man with a personal message from Maria Elena Holly. It is a bit spooky to see that the actress who played her was as close to the real thing as Busey was to Buddy. Today, there is an announcement about the death of one of the Crickets. They have done a wonderful job of keeping the legend alive.
