ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

dunsuls-1 Strange that I would recommend a "remake"albeit,updated significantly but I guess its because I never saw the legendary 1927 original film that's famous as the screens first"talky"and infamous for its star Al Jolson singing in"black face". This version has the lead,Neil Diamond,in black face early in one scene and given the context,I'm sure you'll agree its not condescending or insulting at all.In fact,its vital to the story on a level showing how he writes music for a all black group he grew up knowing as kids,who in turn,get him his first break as a singer to perform what he has written.So much for historical political correctness.The movie has a wrap around song called" Coming to America"that is still for me,to this very day,a immigration anthem for all to this country of immigrants.Mr Diamond musical strength has always been performing and in this movie that talent carries through when ever he sings,even Hebrew songs of faith.What is not fair is to rate his acting against his co-star the legendary Laurence Olivier.In fact,I actually thought the understated performance of Catlin Adams as Rivka Rabinovitch ,Diamonds characters wife,is almost Shakespearian tragic.The rest of the cast is good enough for a film that is really a story between father and son that all of us men have suffered through in one way or another. Now to the story,update or not.Besides the conflict between father and son,it does show the urban link of the times,blacks and Jew's friends because the wasps of the time would have nether.Perhaps poorly shown,but at least attempted,the music group gets a break in a all black uptown nightclub.Finally they succeed but ONLY as Diamonds backups,not on theirown.Diamond shortens his name as a songwriter from Rabinovitch to Robin.Too often these things happened and for someone who grew up back in the 60's it rings sadly true.My only complaint with the story is how it glosses over the eventual split between Diamond and his wife,or should I say,what happened to her after wards.Diamond fares well enough because there is another waiting to take fair Rivka's place and thats sad.Lucie Arnaz fills that roll but is no Rivka. Still its a strong story and a worthy film experience.

jjnxn-1 Dreadful piece of tripe was a career low point for all involved. Although I heard she is good on stage, a medium whose best performers often can not transition to pictures, Lucie Arnaz just did not possess the magnetism to be a film star. She's bland and uninteresting but even with that she still gives the best performance in the movie! Neil Diamond is a fine singer but as this movie proved his gifts did not reach to acting competency. The great Laurence Olivier sinks right along with the rest by giving a ham-hock of a performance, perhaps his worst ever. Badly directed and antiquated even when shot originally in the twenties this is a total miss.

Glendon Gross I liked this movie even though there was no jazz, because I thought the story worked. The theme of whether to follow one's dream or stick with wife and family is significant and was treated well. Neil Diamond may not be a great actor, but he made me believe in his role and he made up for his acting limitations with his music, which I found appropriate to the larger context of the film. When his father disowns him because he has left his wife for a gentile woman I found Lawrence Olivier's performance quite dramatic and effective. I also saw genuine character development in Neil Diamond's character and thought the issues he was wrestling with were familiar and helpful to any musician trying to balance career and family.The tension between father and son is real throughout the movie and I liked the way Neil Diamond and Lawrence Olivier portrayed that tension.

ForTommy2Lookie I love Neil Diamond. I had always heard of this film, but never knew what it was about, what type of reviews it got... anything. So I Netflixed it this weekend, and I loved it. There were even times where I got choked up in parts.So I came on here, saw the negative overall reviews, and was SHOCKED when I learned Neil won the Razzie Award for Worst Actor for this. I thought he did a very fine job. The story unfolded very nicely, the love story was genuine... I would say this film was even better than the "music" genre film Dreamgirls.Sure it had it's glitches here and there, but for the most part I was very pleased.