Product description

Vincent Vaccardi (Ray Sharkey) has talent and drive, but in the singing world of 1959, he knows he has to have looks too. Determined to find success for his songs, he latches on to a local performer and shapes his image into Tommy Dee (Paul Land), who's suddenly an overnight sensation. As his own power and income increase, Vinnie doesn't realize he's lost his focus on the work and is becoming a feral, driven taskmaster. When Tommy starts to agitate for bigger things, Vinnie realizes he'd better have more than one trick up his sleeve. He finds another fresh face (an unbelievably young Peter Gallagher), whom he transforms from Guido the busboy into Caesare--a reclusive, mysterious singing sensation. Vinnie's formula is on the money, and Caesare is catapulted to fame as well, but Vinnie finally begins to see that he may have left something important behind, and that he's not the only one who might have to pay for it. Director Taylor Hackford's THE IDOLMAKER is a brutal exploration of the creation, manipulation, and destruction of teen idols and their audience in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

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The same year Neil Diamond made a ballyhooed (through lackluster) remake of The Jazz Singer, first-time director Taylor Hackford (An Officer and a Gentleman) created a musical biography packed with energy, verve, and style. Golden Globe winner Ray Sharkey is Vincent Vacarri, a tough, charismatic music fan who turns producer, creating stars in the halcyon days of rock and roll. Loosely based on the life of Bob Marucci, who created the Fabian and Frankie Avalon juggernauts, the story is part character study, part musical. The outstanding concert sequences are the payoff with newcomer Peter Gallagher as the Fabian-like Caesare--a great bit of casting. Brill Building songwriter Jeff Barry's song score, including a cagey final number, is a highlight, as is Joe Pantoliano (in another debut) as Vacarri's abused but loyal songwriter partner. --Doug Thomas