Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys (1990)

I thought this was a good film that captured the essence of the Beach boys. The conflict with the Father and his unreasonable behaviour was well acted out as were the many changing faces, moods and music of this great band.Of course in a 90 minute film covering many decades there will be omisions and errors but I was amazed at how much this film did cover. Most of the great songs are included and the actor playing Dennis Wilson was particularly good, although the Mike Love character was probably the most like the man himself, his role was underplayed.My only real criticism is I would have liked to have heard and seen more songs and maybe some of the more joyful times that this band no doubt would have had, but overall a damn good film I'd say.

I lived through the beach boys era, I was just a kid when it began but spent many a great summer at beach boys concerts throughout the 70's Including one memorable concert in the former Foxboro stadium (now the Gillette stadium) Where they performed with the band Chicago and their combined vocal and instrumental talents shone. While the movie has been panned by many I would say it is the closest thing (in motion picture form) to a real view of their history. It in some ways minimizes their impact on both the music of the time and future musicians, but is a good start for anyone interested in learning about the band and what they still mean for so many even to this day.

Considering the natural constraints that are built into a TV-movie, this one does a pretty good job of telling the Beach Boys' story. One might almost call it admirable. The script is based on Steven Gaines book about the group, 'Heroes and Villains,' and for the most part it deals honestly and straightforwardly with the band's roller-coaster ride over a couple of decades, a ride which unfortunately had more than its share of steep declines. Main themes include the struggle for creative control of the band between head of the Wilson clan Murray and eldest son Brian, the struggle for Brian Wilson's sanity as he tries to handle the responsibility of being the band's leader, and Dennis Wilson's problems with drugs and relationships that prove self-destructive.It was easier to depict Dennis' earthy lifestyle than to delve into Brian's complex psyche, I suppose, so this turns into more of the Dennis and Brian show than one might imagine. The other group members Mike Love, Carl Wilson and Alan Jardine accordingly clear the stage for the most part. The music proves a bit problematic, too. Apparently unable to use original Beach Boys material, the imitations are not so terrible, but any true fan of the group will immediately note the difference. Love's voice proves a lot easier to recreate than does Brian's falsetto. One good scene has the boys performing their first song, 'Surfin',' for Mr. Wilson. The best musical sequence is designed to show Brian's blossoming genius at composing and arranging, and this occurs when the band is seen recording 'God Only Knows.' They even correctly showed Carl doing the vocal! But it seems the movie's producers didn't have the nerve to try and take on the Beach Boys' biggest hit and Brian's most glorious creation, 'Good Vibrations.' It's nowhere to be heard in this film.

Being a big Beach Boy fan, I was excited to see this film. But after viewing it , I wish I had never watched this smut. Everyone knows the Beach Boys had some problems, but this was ridiculous. This movie was nothing but negativity the whole way through. I found myself overwhelmed with all the crap that was being thrown at me. I also read the book it was based upon, "Heroes and Villains" by Steven Gaines, which was just more detailed crap. Both the book and the movie seem to forget the importance of the Beach Boys, and the stronghold Brian Wilson had on the music world, and focused more on the problems. Yes there were bad times, but there were good times as well, and this movie shows few if any. This is why I do not recommend this to anyone, especially Beach Boys fans. D-