Second chances are rare to have, but when given, it’s basically the universe telling you to get your life together and own up to what you know you have to do.
Inspired by a true story, my biased towards Al Pacino and his portrayal of the golden boy eagerly claiming his fame with an aging audience, that resonated with me. Danny Collins is a proclaimed rockstar; living the high life, (literally) and partying like a 20-something year old. The satire in this film takes the serious and emotional edge off and Hope, Danny’s granddaughter brought a smile to my face every time she was on screen. So if you’re into happy endings and people changing for the better and cheesy, sassy jokes, you’ll enjoy this one.
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Filmed in present day, Danny is a 1970’s aging rockstar who parties hard, snorting coke from the cross he keeps around his neck and drinking himself into a stupor nightly. When his manager (Christopher Plummer) finds and gifts him a letter John Lennon wrote him 40 years earlier, Danny decides it’s time he turns his life around. The letter John wrote entailed that the lifestyle he was submerged in was not expected of him, “Stay true to yourself, stay true to your music.” It was his choice if he wanted to change his values and morals to fit the the fame he had, or continue living a life he was happy with, with the added luxuries. Danny needed to find where he fit into the mould, but never let it overcome him.
I usually enjoy movies based on true stories, or inspired by them and this one was no exception. The real life Danny Collins, Steve Tilston is a story that isn’t nearly as cliche and warming to the heart, but the man himself says he was definitely inspired by the letter he received from John Lennon.
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Regardless of where you go in life, family is always something you need to keep a strong bond with. I liked that one of the first decisions Danny made was to try and fix things with this son and family. He didn’t completely have his life together yet, but he made a conscious effort to work on both, and his family more than anything.
Obviously like any feel good movie, it’s going to end in a positive way. Danny’s son, Tom was battling a rare form of leukaemia in his blood, but Danny, learning to be a caring father, sticked around to help him battle through. The emotional attachment was strong while watching it. Audiences don’t want to see anything bad happen to struggling characters that they feel a connection to, so as a result, it’s going to be a happy ending, unless directors want to change it up on you.
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Like any sappy film, there has to be a love interest. In the case of this movie, I genuinely enjoyed who they casted to portray Danny’s affection interest. Mary Sinclair, (Annette Bening), is a woman who doesn’t justify her success by a man. Yes, by the end of it she is very much infatuated by this genuine guy who has finally changed for the better. At the beginning she chose to stand her ground and make Danny work and wait for a date with her, I liked that. Even though it ended up with them being all cute and flirty, it’s nice to see both of the love interests have character development on their own. Pacino’s character being the lead, it was obvious there had to be character development there, but for Bening’s character it was good to see her loosen up and grow comfortable with Danny, but still keep her personality.
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Over all, I was a fan of the movie, I did enjoy it! Movie critics were generous for a film that was so predictable, but wasn’t bad at all. (It’s a feel good movie, everyone secretly enjoys those.) These are my opinions, but in order to make your own, catch Danny Collins in theatres April 10, 2015.