Watch The Idolmaker For Free

That was an excellent one.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The late 1950s became the era of the Teen Idol. Many teens-like Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka, and Ritchie Valens-were emerging after their slightly older contemporaries Elvis Presley and Pat Boone had charted several hits for the past few years and would chart several more for a few more. By 1959, a man from the East Coast named Bob Marcucci would help create a couple more TI's-Frankie Avalon and Fabian. This movie is a fictionalized version of this songwriter/manager and his discoveries. Ray Sharkey is excellent as the frustrated show biz savvy promoter who turns his inexperienced amateurs into Hot Commodities before those would-be-icons turn against him. Sharkey's character is not faultless in this as he's shown being both inspiring and condescending to them both. Paul Land and Peter Gallagher are the people he molds into the big time. Gallagher himself had singing experience and showed it here to good advantage. The original songs are by Jeff Barry who with Ellie Greenwich had written several hits for the Girl Groups of the early '60s so that may be a factor why the songs he wrote here don't sound like anything Avalon or Fabian would sing. Also, some of the arrangements sound more like what would come out of the late '70s when this movie was made. Still, there's an enjoyable vibe throughout, even when the breakups come. Oh, and it was a nice surprise seeing Maureen McCormick-the former Marcia Brady of "The Brady Bunch"-having a fling with one of them. This marked the debut of director Taylor Hackford who would eventually do a couple of other music-related films: the Chuck Berry documentary Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll and the Ray Charles biopic Ray. So on that note, I highly recommend The Idolmaker.

I saw this originally on cable in the early 1980's. Watching it again, I was struck by the excellence of the casting. Tovah Feldshuh, Olympia Dukakis, and Ray Sharkey are fantastic and make this a real gem. The musical sequences really hold up, especially a very over the top Peter Gallagher (shades of Adam Lambert). The songs are a pastiche of early 60's bubblegum, with a touch of the 80's. Watching it you might want the soundtrack, which unfortunately isn't out on CD. There is a brief cameo by the legendary "Sweet Sensations" and "The London Fog" as soul group "The Boys and The Girls", a nice touch. The moment Darlene Love starts to sing in the opening sequence, you will be hooked on a really fun period in American pop music.CC

The bad news about "The Idolmaker" is that, like a lot of music films, it drags between songs. The good news is the songs are excellent.Ray Sharkey does a fine job as the agent to up-and-coming talent in New Jersey in the late '50s, and Peter Gallagher and Paul Land excel as his creations. The plot has many of the standard clichés about the price of stardom and the cold machinations behind the scenes, but the music makes it worthwhile. As superb as the soundtrack is, however, it appears to be more of a '70s and '80s take on '50s music. The songs are enjoyable, but they sound like something you'd be more likely to hear in "Grease" than on an Elvis Presley record.While "The Idolmaker" breaks no new ground for fans of '50s nostalgia, it's worth checking out for its fine performances and excellent soundtrack.

When I was on one of my 'spring' breaks from school, I ventured out to California. I was in Hollywood in 1980 and on the telephone poles and on construction sites I saw this black and white poster of this guy - he looked like he was right out of the 50's and it asked the question: "Who is Caesare?" Well I've gotta tell ya, Hollywood in 1980 was very interesting. There were a lot of signs, posters and billboards of folks you never heard of such as "The Untouchables", "The Specials", "The Go-Go's", "Motley Crue"... and this was right along with them. So I thought - it's a retro-50's punk-new wave thing. The guy is kinda cute, though. And went back to school on the east coast.When I finally came back to Los Angeles later in the 80's , I was watching "Z" Channel and ran into this film called "The Idolmaker" starring Ray Sharkey. I loved Ray Sharkey's work in "Crime Story" and "Wiseguy" and thought this would be a good film. Lo and behold, I finally got to connect the posters I saw in Hollywood. It was "The Idolmaker".This film isn't getting the recognition it deserves - it is quite wonderful. It is quite near the full telling of artist vs. manager, how to be a pop star and how artist dumps manager once they become a star. While this is a parallel of a tale of Frankie Avalon and Fabian, it could be just about anyone in the popular music field and the late Ray Sharkey gives the bravo performance of his life here.The one thing to note now about this film is the array of folks in it: Peter Gallegher was toted as "too pretty to be a serious actor" from this film and that has haunted him ever since. But guess what? He was an actor here, and the next film "Summer Lovers" and more TV work and movies after that to his fun performance as "The King of Real Estate" in American Beauty and on the teen drama The O.C. He has held his own despite what the critics had said. Post 'Brady Bunch' Maureen McCormack for example - and faces you know (if not the names) that go on to star or be associated with every excellent mob or crime film or series in the 80's, 90's and today. This film was a first in many things - and a peek into the work of it's director, Taylor Hackford who is very good at telling the "devil in the details" films.If you're interested in how managers/agents/etc. fit in the pop industry, here's a look at how it started -- and how they are treated once their piece of coal becomes a diamond. And too sometimes how making an 'American Idol' goes to their head as well as they forget about the talent. Great film.