Review of A.K.A. Doc Pomus (2012) by Louise P — 30 Nov 2013

I worked with Doc Pomus as a young singer in a girls group called the Lovelites, in 1964. I was 14 years old. Doc wrote some pretty well known songs; I knew that. Doc told my folks he would make sure I would be safe; he kept his word. What I did not know about Doc, I learned from this movie. I learned about the pain of his childhood and how his love for the blues, like my own love for Rock and Roll, lead him to pursue something that would forever change his life and lift him up, higher than his " being the guy on crutches who would knock someone out with a one/two punch" could have ever lifted him. Doc never imagined, in all this dreaming, the real life that lay ahead for him. This film, filled with some personal writings, so generously offered to the audience, by his daughter, Sharyn Felder, tells of his fears and longings, what he thought of himself as a young man, and the way he wanted to be a "whole" man. Although he did so much more than many men had done before him and have after him, in the music business, there was one thing he did not do..he could not do....and poignantly wrote..."Save the Last Dance for Me"; a song to his wife....for reasons that are brought forward in the movie. The repetitive themes, through his successes and failures, had to do with longings, and his inability to see himself as "whole" person/man, even though his humanity was monumental. Through this movie, each one of us, can pick just one thing that resonates with us..be it low self esteem, being generous for the wrong reasons, not looking inward, always taking care of strangers while letting ourselves go to hell....or finding our talent within and growing it, despite all odds. So many more, now, are more like Doc. But in his day, he was an anomaly. Most would have given up and withered away into obscurity. He did not sink, he swam and his exceptional talent for capturing what young men were thinking, needing, desiring, and longing for, allowed him to write some of the most romantic lyrics in Rock and Roll history. This emotional movie is done in a simple style, scanning his life with pictures of the past and story telling with more recent interviews. The way these things are put together allows the important messages get through without too much interpretation on "how did they get here". It is a straight forward biopic into the complex life, intellectual mind, and musical genius of Jerome "Doc Pomus" Felder. I am proud to say I knew and trusted Doc when I was a teenager. That in itself, says volumes about this abundantly talented, loving, man, as noted in this film, through the eyes and words of many. This film had to be made for all time and added to our American Musical History and is its' own work of art, thanks to the team that conceived of.

It and brought it to life.