The Music Never Stopped

source: The Music Never Stopped

Wow, how could I have missed this movie's release at the theaters? I just found the "Music Never Stopped" on Redbox and thought I would rent it, and it is such a heart warming movie, that I put in the category of, "Forrest Gump", which is one of my favorite all time movies. What I really enjoyed about the movie is how a father who had a fall out with his only son 20 years prior over the 1960's rock and roll music he listened too and so loves, is reunited when his son has surgery to remove a tumor, and loses his memory. His father soon learns that music allows his son to bring back memories, and he soon learns why his son loves music by artists, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and Buffalo Springfield, by actually taking the time to listen to the lyrics, and his son on the events that took place that inspired music artists to write such songs.

Love J.K Simmons, loved 'Awakenings'......mix the two and I thought 'yeah, this might just be worth a watch'. Worth a watch it certainly is but alas just like Gabes beard, the film is thin, patchy and could have looked a good bit better with just a little more detailing. JK is as always, a pleasant watch and a likable character. His support in the form of Cara Seymour was excellent & Lou Pucci did his best with a think script and thin beard. I could go on and on about that f*cking beard but shall neglect to other than to say WHY IN THE NAME OF GOD!!! It was a cliché too far and unrequired!.... Would I recommend this film, yes but only if Awakenings wasn't available. That said this film touches on a more social connection than Awakenings and one which many father of lost teenage boys could maybe learn something from. Heck we could all learn something from this film........don't judge other peoples likes against your own as nobody will win! 7/10 (and a generous 7/10)

Like the father and son in this music I too share the love of music that was bequeathed to me by my father. And not unlike Gabriel (the son) and Henry (the father) in "The Music Never Stopped", I and my father were from two very different generations as my father was 45 when I was born. Still there was a very tangible connection we both shared that goes on till this very day whenever I indulge daily in that love. But, how powerful is music? Can it bridge bigger things it has no right to? Absolutely! The power of something that stirs the emotions inside can never be diminished and therein lays the power that so few experiences in life bring. With that as "rock" (pun definitely intended) solid premise "The Music Never Stops" weaves an utterly heartwarming story told expertly to ring true; it doesn't condescend into trite maudlin territory. It's a beautiful piece of work about a "lost" son, who with catastrophic loss of memory due to a brain tumor who is able to reconnect for periods of time with his dad when they share the magic of music embedded in his psyche. The father's love of his son allows him to transcend the generational difference as he becomes a "Deadhead". Much can be read into what occurs in the story and each viewer will have their own moments of the soul stirring emotions bound by a certain soundtrack. There is a great universal truth here and it is presented with economy which serves to elevate this as, perhaps, one of the best independent films of this year (2011), or any other for that matter. See this movie because it deserves your attention. You will see a tour De force by much beloved comedic character actor J.K. Simmons; witness him as you've never imagined him. I have total respect for this man after seeing his light touch bring the father, Henry, to life. Combine that with the amazingly nuanced and deft acting of Lou Taylor Pucci in a difficult role exposing the brittle nature of mental illness and alienation of the son Gabriel. What you get is pure synergism of these two great performances in a sparse but highly moving script. I can't give higher praise except that the music used was some of the best that we will ever witness. Highly recommended!

You would hope that a film like this would have a consultant who was a Deadhead and who had seen The Grateful Dead at least 50+ times. They could have made a dull story interesting with some music by The Grateful Dead and for the credits at the end, The Music Never Stopped, or at least a Grateful Dead tune. Pathetic few partial tunes and constant repeats. Any Deadhead will tell you, you don't repeat songs, except Touch Of Grey to fit the lame plot.

The Music Never Stopped is a story about generational conflict disguised as a medical drama. While they may exist I cannot recall a film that more accurately displays the harm the generation gap caused the parents and children of the Vietnam War era. The film starts slow. A man stays sitting in his living room chair as a phone rings from the kitchen wall. The wife enters the home and sweeps in to pick it up. This scene represents the film. A father refusing to listen to his son, ignoring him. This is his inner conflict. He learns that his son has memory loss from a tumor, this is his external conflict. If you watch this film and see it from the sons perspective, much of its value will be missed. This is not a film about a man who losses his memory. It is a story about a father who must learn that in order to reconnect with his son he must put his inhibitions aside. This film does well at accomplishing what it set out to do. You know Henry, the father, is a stubborn music enthusiast. It is his biggest pleasure. I find that it was deeply felt when he decided to change his perspective in accepting his sons music in order to connect with him, making up for lost time. I feel that this should be more successful that it is. It is a good story and def. a heart warming one that beats out many others who attempt to do the same thing.

This starts out in reality...which will draw you in, but then quickly takes a hard turn into a feelings based fantasy, all the while pretending to be a believable occurrence. If this were reality why didn't anyone think to give him a transistor radio with an earpiece streaming music, if that's all he needed to become coherent? Of course,(spoiler alert)the father's feelings and values don't count...it's all about the kids, even if the kids aren't alright. The music was pretty good, although in snippets only. Ultimately, it's the narrative that "never stops". Do yourself a favor...hit stop and give peace a chance.

The music of the 60s. The father-son relationship. The relationship between music and memory recall. As one growing up in the 1960s, this film connected with me big time. The hippie counterculture. The anti-Vietnam War movement. The generation gap. I thought the actors were superb, not only for their dialogs, but for their facial expressions. Funny, watching the movie, I kept having memory flashbacks of my own every time they played CC&R, Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, etc. I left the movie realizing that "The Music Never DID Stop" for me. Only one criticism of the film. I had no recollection of a few of the songs that were used. I went with a friend, who also could not remember ever hearing the same tunes. So, there might have been a better selection of 60s songs than were used in the film...top 10 tunes instead of B sides, esp. anti-war songs.

Having music as a theme to the movie and having a look at the average user ratings I was very excited to watch this movie. When I started watching this film I got a feeling that its one of those slow emotional films where one guy is a victim to some illness & the whole story is about his family whining for his troubles. But, this feeling was very short. As the movie progressed, I could link the father-son character with my life. Even my dad & I face the similar kind of differences in opinion and taste as it has been portrayed in the movie. The setting is beautiful & has been magnificently portrayed J.K.Simmons & Lou Taylor Pucci.. Very rarely do I rate a movie 10/10. I was thinking of giving it a nine by the time the movie was going to end as irrespective of the ending it was a very beautiful movie. The extra one point is courtesy the ending. Tears never stopped while I watched the ending. This movie has taught me to respect the differences that my father & have & perhaps much more than that can be explained in words... The Music Never Stopped!!!

I watched this movie because I'm a huge fan of Lou Taylor Pucci and I'm working my way through the movies he's made so far. It's a challenge, because I hate westerns and I hate action movies and I hate horror movies - but I LOVE Lou Taylor Pucci! so I'm determined to get through them all. Until I saw this one, I thought he could make any movie worth watching. He IS the only thing worth watching here, and it's very interesting seeing him play a character much older than he is, but he's not enough to float this leaden turkey. I should have axed it as soon as I saw the Grateful Dead mentioned in a review. The only thing more boring than the Grateful Dead are their moronic, obsessive fans - it's very appropriate that they're called deadheads. There was some great music in the 60s, but this movie left out all the good stuff except for the bits of Dylan they managed to squeeze in among the crap. The only decent acting is by Pucci; all the others are bad, but the worst by far is the woman who plays his mother. The screenplay is stupid and the direction is stupid and the whole movie is stupid - and that beard should have been left in the dumpster where they found it - but thank God it hasn't dampened my interest in Pucci. On to the next one.