Spacey's ' Sea' is, alas, all wetThe star captures the voice, but little else, of Bobby Darin.
Like this fall's De-Lovely, the song-and-dance bio of Cole Porter, Beyond the Sea celebrates a man and his music and the ups and down of a stormy life. But one man's celebration doesn't necessarily translate to another's good time. Bobby Darin, who began as a teen idol ("Splish Splash"), segued to nightclubs (and an improbable smash with Kurt Weill's "Mack the Knife"), and ended his 15-year-career with a few memorable Aquarian Age anthems, is the subject at hand. And Kevin Spacey, who attacks the part with the passion of a pig to slop, not only plays the late crooner, he cowrote the screenplay, and coproduced and directed this strenuously exuberant exercise as well.
Like this fall's De-Lovely, the song-and-dance bio of Cole Porter, Beyond the Sea celebrates a man and his music and the ups and down of a stormy life. But one man's celebration doesn't necessarily translate to another's good time.
Bobby Darin, who began as a teen idol ("Splish Splash"), segued to nightclubs (and an improbable smash with Kurt Weill's "Mack the Knife"), and ended his 15-year-career with a few memorable Aquarian Age anthems, is the subject at hand. And Kevin Spacey, who attacks the part with the passion of a pig to slop, not only plays the late crooner, he cowrote the screenplay, and coproduced and directed this strenuously exuberant exercise as well.
The actor dispenses with the age issue right at the start (Darin was 36 when he died, Spacey is in his mid-40s) in the first of many meta-moments in this movie-within-a-movie in which the characters break from the action to comment on what they are doing, who they are portraying. Bob Hoskins, as Darin's brother-in-law, barks back at some extra griping, "He's too old to play the part" by declaring, "He was born to play the part, and you damn well know it!"
Well, Spacey damn well believes it, anyway.
Wearing slick hairpieces, loud suits and a showman's glow, Spacey offers a cabaret-style summation of a pop figure he clearly adores. Looking back - from the edge of the soundstage, from the edge of the grave - the actor's Darin wanders down memory lane, often in the company of his childhood self (the skinny youngster William Ullrich), offering autobiographical asides and hoofing happily away.
The production numbers get progressively more elaborate as Beyond the Sea goes on - they're like a selection of Academy Award "best song" dance interpretations. That is: busy, hand-flaying, groaningly lame. (Speaking of Academy Awards, Darin was nominated for one: a supporting-actor nod for his work in 1963's Captain Newman, M.D.)
What Spacey does have going for him, and what makes this odd, stagey undertaking at all bearable, is a voice. That voice. Close your eyes and the actor - who insisted on doing Darin's jaunty tunes in the movie - is a dead ringer for the dead singer. "Dream Lover," "Artificial Flowers," the title track, "Beyond the Sea" - they all swing, and you can see why Spacey wanted to show off his eerie talent for musical mimicry.
What Beyond the Sea has going against it, however, is about everything else. The cast is an oddball assembly of Brits doing Yanks (Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn), Kate Bosworth doing a vacant impersonation of Darin's showbiz spouse, Sandra Dee, and Caroline Aaron doing an unwitting send-up of a drag queen (as Darin's secret-laden sis). John Goodman seems to be doing John Goodman in the role of Darin's lifelong manager, Steve "Boom Boom" Blauner.
The events of Darin's career are recapped in a seemingly random manner that omits essential data (where did this guy grow up?), messes around with time, and offers dialogue that verges on parody. The cake-taker, one of Spacey's voice-overs: "While it looked like Bobby Kennedy might heal the country, Sandy and I drifted farther and farther apart."
Worse, the film never gives you a real sense of what drove Darin on, fighting a heart ailment (from childhood rheumatic fever) and fighting an industry and press that wanted to pigeonhole him. The only clear message that Beyond the Sea really delivers: that its star relished the opportunity to be Bobby Darin - never mind plausibility, or crisp, clean narrative, or anything else that might get in the way.
Contact movie critic Steven Rea at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/stevenrea.
Beyond the Sea ** (Out of four stars)
Produced by Arthur E. Friedman, Andy Paterson, Jan Fantl and Kevin Spacey, directed by Spacey, written by Lewis Colick and Spacey, photography by Eduardo Serra, musical performances by Spacey, distributed by Lions Gate Films.
Running time: 1 hour, 58 mins.
Bobby Darin. . . Kevin Spacey
Sandra Dee. . . Kate Bosworth
Steve Blauner. . . John Goodman
Charlie Cassotto Maffia . . . Bob Hoskins
Polly Cassotto. . . Brenda Blethyn
Parent's guide: PG-13 (profanity, adult themes)
Playing at: area theaters