The Idolmaker (1980)

Directed by Taylor Hackford. Starring Ray Sharkey, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land, Joe Pantoliano, Tovah Feldshuh, Olympia Dukakis, John Aprea, Maureen McCormick. [PG]

The names have been changed in this fictionalized account of rock promoter Bob Marcucci discovering Frankie Avalon and Fabian and turning them into singing teen idols. Here, it’s Vinnie Vacarri (Sharkey) molding the careers of Tom “Tommy Dee” DeLorusso (Land) and a kid named Guido (Gallagher) who goes by the stage name Caesare. Composer/songwriter Jeff Barry and choreographer Deney Terrio do a pretty good job recreating the sound and stage performances from the late-50s/early-60s rock scene, but even though some of the tunes are catchy (“Sweet Little Lover”, “Baby”, etc.), there’s no replacing the real deal. Sharkey’s dedicated energy and Gallagher’s guileless confusion suit their characters well, and there’s some low-key novelty value in seeing Marcia Brady as a seductive proto-groupie, but after a lumpy start, it fades down the stretch instead of arriving at a breakthrough or hard-fought moral. Coming off his Oscar-winning short subject, Teenage Father, this was Taylor Hackford’s feature directing debut; it was the first film for actors Gallagher and Joe Pantoliano, too. Jesse Frederick dubs Land’s singing voice.

66/100