Director: Dan Fogelman Starring: Al Pacino, Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale, Christopher Plummer, Josh Peck, Nick Offerman Writer: Dan Fogelman | 4/5 Danny Collins In many ways, Danny Collins, the directorial debut of screenwriter Dan Fogelman (Cars, Crazy, Stupid, Love.), is a better Cameron Crowe movie than Crowe’s actual 2015 film, Aloha. Star-studded cast of Pacino, Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale, and Christopher Plummer? Check. Rock star plotting based around the wrongdoings of a rock journalist? Check. Killer classic rock soundtrack? A bit too much heartfelt earnestness? Check and check. For those of you who went to Aloha excited and left disappointed, look no further than Fogelman’s film, about a aged rock star looking to get close with his long lost son, to lift your spirits. Danny Collins, played by Al Pacino in a stellar late-in-the-game performance, made it big in the seventies with a string of successful albums, only to eventually stop writing and begin touring and partying nonstop. As these movies go, the endless series of hookups, drugs, and marriages has drained Danny of not only all musical inspiration, but his will to live. All it takes is one long-overdue gift from his manager/best friend (Plummer) to give him a second wind. Turns out, Collins’ hero John Lennon wrote him a letter in 1971 advising his fellow musician to never get caught up in the rush of celebrity and to stay true to his art. Would Collins’ life would have taken a different path if he had received the letter? That’s the exact question Fogelman presents to Danny and to us. |
From here on out, the film’s plotting takes a great number of predictable plot turns. There is the son (Cannavale) who wants nothing to do with his biological father, his blooming romance with a Hilton hotel manager (Annette Bening), and his inevitable relapse when things do not turn out the way they he planned. It’s all here, but do not let that turn you away from a film that is actually a blast to watch.
It’s not the John Lennon soundtrack that ultimately makes the film. If anything, the Lennon tunes only work to highlight the obvious emotions in the scene that did not need emphasizing. Watch Danny Collins for the actors. Pacino basically played this same character in last year’s The Humbling, but he really nails it here. Many could say the Oscar winner is pulling a Michael Keaton/Birdman move here, playing a character whose story vaguely parallels their own. Whatever you may think, it’s fair to say that Pacino adds another phenomenal performance to a resume brimming with them.
Following his lead is a who team of solid supporting roles, including small parts for Nick Offerman and and Drake & Josh’s Josh Peck. Despite the great work from Garner and Bening, 2nd MVP here would have to go to Cannavale, who gives this tired, stock character an actual beating heart. I was pretty close to giving Collins a 3.5, but I had to bump it up after watching the film’s final scene, which contains a beautiful showcase for Pacino and Cannavale. The story may be old, but Fogelman and his cast sure do make it worth your while.
It’s not the John Lennon soundtrack that ultimately makes the film. If anything, the Lennon tunes only work to highlight the obvious emotions in the scene that did not need emphasizing. Watch Danny Collins for the actors. Pacino basically played this same character in last year’s The Humbling, but he really nails it here. Many could say the Oscar winner is pulling a Michael Keaton/Birdman move here, playing a character whose story vaguely parallels their own. Whatever you may think, it’s fair to say that Pacino adds another phenomenal performance to a resume brimming with them.
Following his lead is a who team of solid supporting roles, including small parts for Nick Offerman and and Drake & Josh’s Josh Peck. Despite the great work from Garner and Bening, 2nd MVP here would have to go to Cannavale, who gives this tired, stock character an actual beating heart. I was pretty close to giving Collins a 3.5, but I had to bump it up after watching the film’s final scene, which contains a beautiful showcase for Pacino and Cannavale. The story may be old, but Fogelman and his cast sure do make it worth your while.