One-Trick Pony (film)
One-Trick Pony | |
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Directed by | Robert M. Young |
Written by | Paul Simon |
Produced by | Michael Tannen |
Starring | Paul Simon Blair Brown Rip Torn Joan Hackett |
Cinematography | Dick Bush |
Edited by | Edward Beyer Barry Malkin David Ray |
Music by | Paul Simon |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $843,215[1] |
One-Trick Pony is a 1980 feature film written by and starring
The song "Late in the Evening" from the film's soundtrack hit number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the title song peaked at number 40.[3] After years of being available only on videocassette and laserdisc, One-Trick Pony was released by Warner Bros. on DVD in 2009.[4]
Synopsis
Paul Simon plays Jonah Levin, a once-popular
Production
The title derives from a colloquial American expression meaning a person specializing in only one area, having only one talent, or of limited ability.[6][7]
The film is not considered autobiographical, though the story makes use of some of Simon's experiences in the music business.
The Paul Simon album One-Trick Pony was released concurrently with the movie. All of the songs on the album are featured in the film, though some are presented with a slightly different mix, such as "Jonah", which features a harmonica solo (probably by Toots Thielemans) that is missing from the album version. The film also features "Soft Parachutes", Jonah Levin's sole hit as a recording artist, which is included as a bonus track on the album's 2004 reissue.
Cast
Actors
- Paul Simon as Jonah Levin
- Blair Brown as Marion Levin
- Rip Torn as Walter Fox
- Joan Hackett as Lonnie Fox
- Allen Garfield as Cal van Damp
- Mare Winningham as Modeena Dandridge
- Michael Pearlmanas Matty Levin
- Lou Reed as Steve Kunelian
- Steve Gadd as Danny Duggin
- Eric Gale as Lee-Andrew Parker
- Tony Levin as John Dibatista
- Richard Tee as Clarence Franklin
- Harry Shearer as Bernie Wepner
- Daniel Stern as Hare Krishna
Musicians
- Sam & Dave
- The Lovin' Spoonful
- Tiny Tim
- The B-52's
- David Sanborn
Reception
Reviews for the film were mixed. Writing in the New York Times, critic Janet Maslin called the movie "an odd mixture of inordinately graceful touches and sweeping, clumsy ones".[5] Stephen Holden in Rolling Stone called it "a morose little art film".[11] However, critic Roger Ebert praised the film as "a wonderful movie, an affectionate character study with a lot of good music in it".[12] The film was commercially unsuccessful, grossing less than $900,000[1] despite a budget of $8 million.[13]
External links
- One Trick Pony at IMDb
- One-Trick Pony at Rotten Tomatoes
References
- ^ a b "One-Trick Pony (1980)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ "One-Trick Pony". IMDb. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ "Paul Simon". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ Howells, Sacha (May 18, 2009). "Warners Finally Dusts off Dozens of Lost Classics, and Hundreds of Not-Sos". MTV. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Maslin, Janet (October 3, 1980). "Film: 'One-Trick Pony' of Paul Simon". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ "one-trick pony". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ Oregon Pioneer Assoc. 32nd Ann. Reunion. 1905. p. 264.
- ^ Dave Swanson (3 Oct 2015). "The Story of Paul Simon's 'One-Trick Pony' Movie and Album". ultimateclassicrock.com.
- ^ Laura Jackson (2002). Paul Simon: The Definitive Bio. Citadel Press. p. 163.
- ^ a b Dave Marsh (30 Oct 1980). "What Do You Do When You're Not a Kid Anymore And You Still Want to Rock and Roll". rollingstone.com.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (October 16, 1980). "One-Trick Pony". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1980). "One-Trick Pony". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ISBN 1493050753.