You Light Up My Life (1977)

The critical reception to this movie is a classic example of bandwagoning. Everyone (including the previous reviewer) mistakenly believes it was thrown together after the crappy hit of the same name, which is absolutely not true.Conn is excellent, Joe Silver is top-notch as her father, and much of the dialogue is genuine and funny. This movie is thoughtfully understated (90% of it at least) in a way that more than makes up for a little bit of bad acting in the supporting cast and too much sentimentality in its waning moments. Really, there is just one thing that taints it horribly. I don't think this is a spoiler, but watch out for that last scene. She actually says "you know, I learned something today..." I'm not sure how Brooks wrote all the good stuff before that and somehow couldn't help but ladle on the molasses in the closing seconds, but to me it's not sufficiently cloying to taint the whole product.Mostly, the story is just one of a sweet, honest and talented woman trying to find her show-biz sea legs on a ship full of (male, LA) phonies.It's kinda like how Heaven's Gate is the worst movie ever made, unless you actually watch it (the version before the studio butchered it, that is). One well-publicized critical panning of a film can sometimes spark a rabble. People go into it already convinced, and just can't wait to start laughing at it. And thus the prophecy is fulfilled; "WORST MOVIE EVER!"This movie is GOOD, which apparently makes everyone else stupid except for me. I'm okay with that, I think.

Yes, the song is catchy, but hardly great. Yes, the plot is pure soap opera. But Didi Conn delivers a great performance. With anyone else, this film might have deserved all of the scorn heaped upon it. But Conn's earnest likability really sells it. The supporting cast is good, but it's Conn's show. It's a pity she's just so nice - if she were trashier and more traditionally attractive, she could have a much bigger career. As some others have said, the award winning title song is also good the first few times around, but gets a little tiresome after a while. But the movie is one I can watch over and over (well, at least several times a year) and still enjoy.For anyone who's also a romantic and prefers films with heart to those with an edge, it's a must see.

A simple story, a great song and an excellent lesson about life. Laurie Robinson ( played to a tee by Didi Conn ) is the child of an entertainer. Her father ( Joe Silver ) is grooming her to follow in his footsteps. However, Laurie's heart and talent is in her music and she finds it her " love ". This is a story of disappointment and overcoming the numerous letdowns we face in life and the one person we can rely on is ourselves and also to like ourselves because if we give in to failures in our lives, we have failed. The title song was schmaltzy at the start but as time goes on, it professes hope and an inspiration. A melody that reaches the core of my heart and will stand as one of most beloved songs of my life

I remember this movie with feelings of sheer . . . agony. More than half of the film is commercials (no, really!). The slight excuse for a story could easily have been told in 25 minutes (and almost is!) The end result is a prefab love story of predictable schlock, all obviously thrown together in a crassly commercial attempt to wring a few more bucks from the contemporary Debbie Boone hit. Yep, that's how fast it was produced... the song that "inspired" it was still big on the charts when the film was released!Despite decades of seeing bad movies, this one still impresses me for its extravagant, no-holds-barred, headlong jump into the most tedious, absurd, and indelible cinematic badness. It truly deserves to be on the IMDb list of the 100 worst of all time, and has never left the top 3 on my personal "worst" list. Enjoy it for the sheer masochistic thrill!