April 19: The Music Never Stopped

"Tale of a father who struggles to bond with his estranged son Gabriel, after Gabriel suffers from a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories."

   The Music Never Stopped is a heart-wrenching drama about Henry (J.K Simmons) trying to reconnect with his son, Gabriel (Lou Taylor Pucci), after he suffers from a brain tumor. After the surgery, Gabriel has a difficult time remembering and learning things, as well as having difficulty communicating. Gabriel had always been a huge fan of 60s and 70s rock music, especially The Grateful Dead, and it is through this music that he learns to reconnect with the world. The music seems to magically heal him, although temporary, and in his moments of bliss, listening to what he loves, Henry has the chance to build a relationship with his son that was ruined twenty years earlier. 

Because Henry would rather be a Dead Head than go to college... and some flag burning issues

   The Music Never Stopped has an amazing cast led by the highly talented and underused J.K Simmons, whose performance is definitely Oscar worthy. He's a man full of regret, losing his son to a world he looked down upon so much (rock and roll, anti-war, hippie scene), only to be given another chance with him after his surgery. Henry's life begins to turn around as he spends more time with his son and he slowly becomes a man of hope and happiness. Lou Taylor Pucci is incredible in his role as well, showing how much one man can struggle to just remember what he had for lunch. As music "revives" him, in a way, he tries to keep up with everything going on around him and you are battling right there with him. 

He's going to be in The Evil Dead "remake", so I can be carefully, carefully hopeful

   I would highly recommend The Music Never Stopped. It is clearly a small budget movie and the production value may have suffered a little, but it's the performances that make the film what it is. Once the story gets going, it does become slightly predictable, but it's all about the acting and the music which plays such a vital role to the film. The soundtrack is terrific by including songs by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Bing Crosby, and Buffalo Springfield. How the producers got the licensing for these songs with so little money, I will never know. 

The Good:

J.K Simmons finest performance to date and being reminded of how amazing he really is 

The Bad:

the tiniest vibe of "Made for TV", having a few moments that hint it could have played on the Hallmark channel

The Ugly:

seeing that any moment a life can change drastically and that the memories we keep are more valuable than anything else

Overall: 7.6/10

Trailer:

Official Website Here