Ever see that episode of The Simpsons where Mr. Burns hires Seņor Spielbergo to make the hagiographic "A Burns For All Seasons"? Yeah. Potentially interesting twist to the biopic -- Darin directs the movie of his life -- but falls apart in so many ways. It never uses the conceit in any formal way; early on, the kid version of Darin appears and literally calls bullshit on the proceedings, only to drag the story back to day one, like every other fucking biopic. There's also a shot of the kid watching rushes of his memories, but again, nothing is done with it. There's one good idea here (Darin wooing Sandra Dee by crooning the title song in a musical number), and it really isn't that good. And why film, anyway? If this were about Coppola or somebody, it'd make sense, but this is the guy who's famous for his hepcat version of "Mack the Knife". (Can you name any of the ten features Darin appeared in?) Most disastrously, Spacey's Darin doesn't have a single flaw; any difficulties in his life are because of the flaws of other people, usually (come to think of it, only) the women. The overall impression is that Darin is an insufferable, egomaniacal prick, and despite Spacey's efforts to convince, the song-and-dance routine doesn't redeem him. I dunno, maybe it's actually brilliant; the last dance sequence, featuring a dozen lookalikes cavorting about and creating a funhouse mirror effect, is as disconcerting as Malkovich Malkovich, and apropos of a solipsistic self-directed biography. It would've made more sense if the film was about Kevin Spacey making a Bobby Darin movie. But that might've cut a little too close to the bone, eh Mack?
Where we saw it: film | We deign to rate it: 13 outta 100