Featured Audience Ratings

• Derek D

  
  Kevin Spacey did a great job putting together the story of Bobby Darin, one of the most popular singers of his time in the 60's. Spacey directed and starred and even did his own singing and dancing in this film that chronicles Darin's childhood then skips ahead to when… More
  Kevin Spacey did a great job putting together the story of Bobby Darin, one of the most popular singers of his time in the 60's. Spacey directed and starred and even did his own singing and dancing in this film that chronicles Darin's childhood then skips ahead to when he's older and just starting out. Darin didn't have drug and alcohol problems or anything else that gets thrown into your usual run-of-the-mill biopic. Bobby Darin was given just years to live, so he pretty much lived his entire life on borrowed time. He had the usual marital troubles and later finds out his sister is actually his mother, but - for better or worse - the story doesn't have the drama and theatrics that most films of these types seem to delve into and ride until the end. Still, Spacey did a terrific job in capturing the spirit and joy that performing did for Darin back in the day.

• Emily A

  
  This movie did not live up to its tagline and all in all lacked a certain lustre that this kind of film demands. That's not to say that Kevin Spacey did a bad job directing or acting; he did them very well. I just don't know if he was the right person to do it.

• Lady D

  
  This was great, I didn't know very much about Bobby Darin and Kevin Spacey certainly played a great part.

• Al S

  
  Kevin Spacey is absolutely marvelous. A teriffic performance. He sing's, writes, produces and directs a magnificent movie. Kate Bosworth is fantastic. This is a wonderful film. It's an sensational, riveting, extroadinary and brilliant biopic

• Roy G

  
  Spacey is someone who is capable of producing, writing, directing, starring and doing his own singing -- and making it all work magnificently.

• Nate Z

  
  [center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1087/photo156zi.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]I really don’t think a lot of people know Bobby Darren. It seems that today most people… More
  [center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1087/photo156zi.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]I really don’t think a lot of people know Bobby Darren. It seems that today most people would recognize him from singing “Beyond the Sea” over the closing credits of [i]Finding Nemo[/i]. He wasn’t supposed to live past 17 but went on and wrote 400 plus songs including “Mack the Knife,” “Splish Splash,” and “Dream Lover." Seems like there could be some interesting ground for a biopic. Kevin Spacey is one of our most celebrated actors and earned two very well deserved Oscars. Spacey has a strong passion for Darren and has been dreaming of portraying his life story for years. Passion is good for a role, right? Sam Raimi had passion for [i]Spider-Man[/i] and look how those movies turned out. Well, with [i]Beyond the Sea[/i] it seems that Spacey is less passionate about Bobby Darren and more passionate about his love of Kevin Spacey.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The film opens with the 37-year-old Darren (Spacey) reliving his life via a biographical movie he’s filming (yes, it’s a movie within a movie). With the help of a younger movie self as a guide, Darren traces his rise from the streets of Brooklyn to headlining the Cococabana club. As a young child, doctors feared that Darren wouldn’t outlive his teens with his weak heart. Bedridden often, he found inspiration in music with his flamboyant yet supportive mother (Brenda Blethyn). Darren is driven to succeed and soon lands on top of the charts with a string of hits. Next he’s starring in movies with Rock Hudson and Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth), a chickadee that Darren is just as determined to succeed with. They marry, have a child, but Darren doesn’t feel fulfilled. He needs to push his music further whether or not it alienates everyone around him.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]If you thought [i]Beyond the Sea[/i] was the story of Bobby Darren, you’d be pitifully wrong. It’s really the story of Kevin Spacey, actor/writer/director/singer/dancer. That’s why we get to see flashy, superfluous dance numbers, that’s why we get to watch Spacey sing 12-15 times, and that’s why Spacey went to the trouble of re-recording all of Darren’s songs so that’s it’s Spacey belting out the tunes. Because, remember, this is a film about Spacey, not Bobby Darren.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Spacey is also much too old to be playing Darren, who died suddenly at age 37. He comes off lechery, especially during his courtship with the young Sandra Dee. Spacey isn’t unaware of this problem because in the opening minutes of [i]Beyond the Sea [/i]someone accuses Bobby Darren of being to old to play himself in his movie. The response: “He was born to play this part!” There you go folks, case closed.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The acting in [i]Beyond the Sea[/i] isn’t really an issue. Spacey has a genuine bounce to his song renditions and proves to be a capable dancer. John Goodman plays yet another gruff but lovable sidekick. It’s always good to see Bob Hoskins onscreen, no matter what the role may be. Bosworth comes away the best as she shifts from stars-in-the-eyes naiveté to a harder edge (you may rethink that whole song from [i]Grease[/i]).[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The dialogue is played so straight that it’s often hilarious: “Memories are like moonbeams, we do with them what we like.” With all due respect, what the fuck does that mean?! I think I get the idea but what can anyone really do with moonbeams? If this line isn’t bad enough it becomes a central idea for [i]Beyond the Sea[/i] which Spacey/Darren uses to excuse his flagrant gaps in time and fact.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][i]Beyond the Sea[/i] gets so caught up in the Kevin Spacey Variety Hour that it fails to tell its audience why they should even care about Darren. Was he an inspiration because he outlived doctor expectations? Did he liven up old songs? Was he a remarkably versatile talent? Who knows? You’re on your own. Spacey’s too busy singing and dancing to explain the relevancy of Bobby Darren or why this movie should even exist.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]There must be some interesting facts about Darren. I did not know that he wrote “Splish Splash” let alone that he wrote the whole song in 20 minutes. I didn’t know Darren required a toupee at such a young age. That stuff is interesting. It’s too bad it all takes a back seat because Spacey wants to emphasize his singing. Seriously, I get it; you can sing, Kevin Spacey. Can I see more of Bobby Darren and less of Spacey now?[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][i]Beyond the Sea[/i] portrays Darren so single-mindedly. He’s always focused on his music and nothing else, whether that be a budding acting career (he was nominated for an Oscar), the advice of his friends, or the love of his family. Darren kind of comes across as a self-centered jerk a lot of the time in [i]Beyond the Sea[/i].[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]I don’t know which is worse, Spacey the director or Spacey the writer. It’s not that he’s inept at either end but he just makes decisions that kill the material. There has to be a better framing device than having Darren star in a movie about his life. There have to be better transitional ideas than having New York City explode into choreographed dances. To top it off, when the movie reaches its very protracted climax, we see the adult Bobby Darren in a tap duet with his younger self. [i]Beyond the Sea[/i] loses whatever earnest intentions it had and melts away into one strange metaphysical song and dance revue.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][i]Beyond the Sea[/i] has been a pet project for Kevin Spacey for so long that the focus has shifted from Bobby Darren to Spacey himself. This movie exists so that Spacey can celebrate himself. To say [i]Beyond the Sea[/i] is a showcase of megalomania would be an understatement. Many scenes exist for no reason other than to give Spacey another opportunity to dance or sing. Redubbing all of Darren’s songs seems a tad unnecessary and a whole lot about ego. Die-hard fans of Darren or Spacey may enjoy [i]Beyond the Sea[/i], but most people will grow tired of seeing Spacey congratulate himself for being an autuer. This is a self-indulgent nightclub act posing as a film. Memories are like moonbeams, and I’m forgetting this movie as fast as possible.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: D[/color][/font]

• Mouhannad S

  
  I loved the show. Beautiful soundtrack, gorgeous sets and costumes, good writing, and great performances. you will like the first half of "Beyond The Sea", with its production numbers and people dancing in the streets and love blooming all over the place and rising above… More
  I loved the show. Beautiful soundtrack, gorgeous sets and costumes, good writing, and great performances. you will like the first half of "Beyond The Sea", with its production numbers and people dancing in the streets and love blooming all over the place and rising above adversity to achieve fame and fortune ... ... but the second half was like a whole different movie. No more dancing in the streets, nothing to be happy about at all, just illness, alcoholism, politics, audience rejection and early death. The songs are all done well. Not to be missed if you like that sort of music.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]"Beyond the Sea" is a biopic about singer Bobby Darin(Kevin Spacey, who also directed, did his own singing, co-wrote and co-produced but probably did not help with the catering), ne Walden Robert Cassotto, who was born into a modest household in The… More
  [font=Century Gothic]"Beyond the Sea" is a biopic about singer Bobby Darin(Kevin Spacey, who also directed, did his own singing, co-wrote and co-produced but probably did not help with the catering), ne Walden Robert Cassotto, who was born into a modest household in The Bronx in 1936. As a young boy, he was struck by rheumatic fever which weakened his heart, so doctors did not think he would survive past the age of fifteen. He defied their predictions and also developed an interest in music which led to a very successful career as a pop singer. Eventually, he even gets into acting and a relationship with actress Sandra Dee(Kate Bosworth).[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Beyond the Sea" simply tries too hard in trying to cram the entirety of Bobby Darin's life into a film along with enough symbolism, surrealism and musical numbers to choke a horse. The most serious flaw of the movie is that Kevin Spacey is simply too old to be playing Darin, especially in his early scenes with Kate Bosworth.(Any actor who chooses to direct must eventually realize that they do not have to be in front of the camera all of the time.) As the film goes on, Spacey does get in sync with the older Darin, but by then the damage has been done. [/font]

• Mike T

  
  Kevin Spacey's directorial debut proves how skilled he is. Not only is he a phenomenal actor, but a skilled singer and dancer too. It's too bad that such a mediocre film is a showcase for that fact. This is an incoherent, structurally frustrating movie that doesn't… More
  Kevin Spacey's directorial debut proves how skilled he is. Not only is he a phenomenal actor, but a skilled singer and dancer too. It's too bad that such a mediocre film is a showcase for that fact. This is an incoherent, structurally frustrating movie that doesn't achieve any sort of emotional impact.

• Lesley N

  
  Even Kevin Spacey couldn't keep me awake for this one

• Anthony V

  
  Kevin Spacey creates a great throw back to the old Hollywood musicals. He also manages to create a vivid portrait of Walden Robert Cassotto (AKA Bobby Darin). Fun and entertaining, however, if you hate musicals with dance numbers in the old Hollywood style, this will not be your cup… More
  Kevin Spacey creates a great throw back to the old Hollywood musicals. He also manages to create a vivid portrait of Walden Robert Cassotto (AKA Bobby Darin). Fun and entertaining, however, if you hate musicals with dance numbers in the old Hollywood style, this will not be your cup of tea.

• Marion R

  
  It was enjoyable. The songs keep the movie going, it was more like a long music video.

• Sarah P

  
  Nothing exciting about this film

• Haley A

  
  Better than I thought it'd be. Kevin Spacey makes a great Bobby Darin, and did wonderfully as writer/director. Kate Bosworth, Bob Hoskins, and Venessa Redgrave were great additions, as well. Interesting take on the story, and very entertaining film.

Read all 14 featured audience ratings