Review of Danny Collins (2015) by Jhep — 20 Apr 2015

A very “iffy” script ultimately does this film in….. The cast (especially Al Pacino who is frequently charming-as-hell but has very little to work with) try in vain to breath life into the film’s not especially interesting story. What they have to contend with is the ghost of some relentlessly tragic 1930s Bette Davis “soaper” that lurks just out of sight in almost every scene (Bette Davis is going blind/Danny Collin’s son has leukemia/brave Bette is the only one who knows The Secret and now it will die with her/estranged Pacino‘s little grand-daughter has ADHD and Hope’s only hope- her name IS actually Hope- is to go to the VERY EXPENSIVE SCHOOL her that parents can‘t afford)…..enough already !…..…Another serious problem with the film is that the director himself seems to participate in the Ga-Ga Celebrity Culture he is exploring; none of the film’s material is presented “tongue in cheek”, there is no subtext; almost everyone in this story is a bit of a starstruck hick- including the director.

As a matter of fact the premise of the film itself betrays what can be called dangerously high levels of starstruck-ness i.e., just HOW amazing is it that John Lennon wrote an encouraging letter to a fellow-musician ?…..In your mind’s eye you can almost see the session where the idea for "Dannt Collins" was “pitched” to some wavering potential backer……. “I mean do you GET it !?…...it’s a letter FROM JOHN LENNON !!!…......from LENNON !!!!!!!!…….…the guy GOT this letter ….. He got this letter from JOHN LEN-”.