(1980) 2.5 Mark Deming If first-time screenwriter Paul Simon hasn't insisted upon casting first-time leading man Paul Simon in the film One Trick Pony, the results would have probably been a bit more impressive, but as it is the movie is an under-appreciated look at the music industry and one man's struggle to keep his life together, both as a husband and an artist. Simon isn't exactly bad as Jonah, a one-hit wonder whose current music bears previous little resemblance to "Soft Parachutes," a folk-rock antiwar number that charted in the late '60s, but Simon simply lacks the charisma or emotional range to carry the film on his shoulders, which up to a point is what the script (and Robert M. Young's direction) demands of him; he's fine in low-key moments, or when he interacts with his band (played by fellow real-life musicians Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Tony Levin, and Richard Tee), but when the narrative demands a real performance from Simon, it's clear he doesn't have what it takes. His script, however, is an often witty and incisive look at the casually sleazy world of the music business, not to mention a plausible scenario at how Simon's career might have gone if he'd never been able to follow up "The Sound of Silence." And the film's supporting cast often picks up the slack for Simon, including Rip Torn as a phony-hipster record company executive, Allen Goorwitz as an egocentric radio programmer, and Lou Reed as an especially slimy record producer (and for better or worse, both Simon and Reed have been in the business long enough to understand the character all too well). The always charming Blair Brown gives her all as Jonah's wife Marion, but sadly her leading man isn't at the same level she is in bringing their crumbling relationship to life, though she gets high marks for effort. And Robert M. Young obviously understands that this is a music film where the characters really are more important than the music, and ultimately it's the people who make this film interesting, even if the material deserved a more seasoned actor in the lead.

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One Trick Pony (1980)

One Trick Pony

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Nudity
Adult Situations
Not For Children
Adult Language

genres

Drama

sub-genres

Rock Musical

category

Feature

directed by

Robert M. Young

countries

USA

released

1980

run time

98 min.

produced by

Warner Brothers

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by Eleanor Mannikka synopsis

The struggle of a has-been singer to work his way back up the charts is the focus of this drama by Robert M. Young with screenplay and music by Paul Simon. Simon plays Jonah, a once-popular singer who now opens for punk rock bands. In the ten years since he had a hit song, Jonah's wife has divorced him, but he still sees his young son as often as he can. With his record company on his back to come up with something that sells, Jonah begins to compromise his own talent when he listens to the advice of a trendy producer. Whether or not he can straighten out his personal life and steer his own ship may depend on his ability to trust his own judgment and adjust to the changing times.

characteristics

- Record [phonographic]

- Singer

- Singing

- Son

- Music-industry

- Musician

- Comeback

- Down On Their Luck

- Ex-wife

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