If you’re thinking of seeing the septuagenarian Rolling Stones when they appear at Summerfest then “Danny Collins” might be in your wheelhouse.
This story of an aged rocker trying to reclaim the life that fame denied him stars Al Pacino as the title character, an arena nostalgia act whose one big hit everyone demands to hear at each show.
Jaded by fame, alcohol and cocaine he goes through the motions of his art and his life. He grew old gracelessly, but never grew up.
But one day he receives a letter written by John Lennon forty years earlier that was never delivered and that causes him to reassess his life. (The film was inspired by a true incident, and the film is awash in Lennon’s music).
So off he goes on an apology tour to make amends with the one person he wronged the most – a son he never knew, the result of a one night stand.
Bobby Cannavale is the bitter son overprotective of his pregnant wife, played by Jennifer Garner, and child with a learning disability, all of whom the overbearing Pacino tries to fix in one fell swoop.
Like other films that cater to an older audience “Danny Collins” is about aging and regret with a never-too-late subtext. And while it is as sentimental and manipulative as any of them, it is less saccharine.
The musical setting reminded me of “Quintet,” Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut set a nursing home for classical musicians, and “Begin Again” with Mark Ruffalo as a washed up producer. Pacino gives a reliably entertaining performance as a fools-rush-in type of guy looking back on a disappointing life.
He talk-sings with the throaty rumble befitting a voice abused by a lifetime of cigarettes and booze. Set pieces include his flirtation with a hotel manager, played by Annette Benning; playing match maker for younger hotel employees; and a third act crisis of confidence. Individually they’re not that convincing but collectively they add to the bittersweet impression of a guy whose heart is in the right place.
“Danny Collins” is one a growing number of Bucket List films – Dan Fogelman making his directorial debut here also wrote the Robert DeNiro/Morgan Freeman vehicle “Last Vegas” – and fans of that genre should find it lands somewhere between satisfying and gratifying.
*** Three stars
With Al Pacino, Jennifer Garner, Christopher Plummer, Bobby Cannavale, Annette Bening, Katarina Cas, Giselle Eisenberg. Produced by Nimitt Mankad, Jessie Nelson. Rated R; drug use, nudity, language. Approximate running time: 106 minutes.
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