Sadly Over-hyped

Purely Joyful Movie!

Perfect cast and a good story

best movie i've ever seen.

It had to be tough pulling all 7 of the surviving (at the start) Cowsills together and having it weave a coherent narrative, but in part, this documentary does that. For those of us who remember their meteoric rise, perfect harmonies and sudden dramatic disappearance, this documentary answered a lot of questions. Contrary to Cousin Brucie's theory that the music industry changed - they still had a huge number of fans who were left wondering what had happened to them. As musically talented as they were and still are, they could have easily gone with any changes the musical landscape had to throw at them and not only survived but thrived.I wish it had gone a little deeper in parts - their mother's part in all this was glossed over and she got off way too lightly, but maybe it was a time issue. I mean, she kicks her only daughter out of the house for surviving an attempted rape by her father? Stood around smoking while the father beat all of his sons bloody? Who does that? The woman had the best escape route in history (the marketable talent of her kids, which was impressive), and she didn't take it to protect them from the brutality? We never understand why.So, for what it did cover, I found this to be a well produced and very interesting documentary. Answered a lot of questions. Just not all.

"Growing up in the bay area with "Live" acid rock from the likes of Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and The Holding Company and never listening to AM Radio, I suppose I missed all the hoopla on The Cowsills Story." But thanks to these wonderful Filmmakers, I got to see just how bad they were! There is no way you are going to convince this real flower child that the Cowsills made anything close to good music. The flaw in the doc is that they only talk to folks close to the band and the remaining band-members themselves. They forgot to talk to all of us that hated bands like this. The Cowsills, The Monkees.. my god, you can't get any worse! So now on with the review: The doc is great even though it hugs their awful music. Extremely candid and unobtrusive. America's Family gone to all hell for sure is told in a way that you hate the abusive Father that made the whole thing up. Punching out his own boys, abusing his daughter and wrecking recording contracts is the perfect fit when it comes to the "stage father" out for the cash and not caring who gets in the way. The Films paints a vivid picture of how easily kids can be swayed into anything a parent in this case makes them all do. Be a band, be sweet to everyone, lie about your life at home and ask for top dollar. When Shirley Jones testifies to herself asking why the Producers of The Partridge Family didn't use the real Cowsills? She got "Their not actors" as a bad answer. Actually I disagree, the mature Cowsills could have their own Reality Show with all the fighting, the healing and the mess their Father made of their lives still happening after all these years.This Doc is in your face, hard hitting and provocative. But then its splattered with that pastel pop music that makes one physically sick.. well at least in my case. Talented, no way Jose.. a 2 hit wonder.. yes! Another story of Babylon but at least its not a Hollywood disaster this time. If you can get around the music, this one as a lesson of bad management and abuse in the music biz should not be missed.

For those of you who are over 50 and remember the Cowsills or even if you haven't, this movie is sure to interest you. The family band, popular in the late 60's was composed of five brothers, one little sister and their mother. All of them were talented musicians who perfected harmonizing. There were many hits, including "The Rain, the Park and Other Things", and "Hair".This story is about their journey from the time the original four brothers started the band, to the breakup of the band, and what happened to them many years later. They open up about very personal family issues, including a brother who wasn't allowed to join them even though he yearned to. They talk about family secrets, revealing a family who was far from the perfect, happy family the public saw.This is an entertaining movie, featuring the music of these very talented family members, many of whom became solo musicians and talented songwriters. At the same time, it is a story about a very real family with very real problems and tells each of its members individual stories. Throughout the movie you'll learn about how they coped and how most of them survived.This is a family who despite rejection, failure, tragedy and some other harsh realities, still love each other.

The Cowsills were a band made up of brothers, one sister and their mom, ho had a few major hit records in the ate 60s. They were the inspiration for the show The Partidge Family. While this documentary chronicles the fairly short time they were fairly big stars, it more goes into the psychology of the family itself, especially about their abusive father Bud. There are interviews with all of them, and the insight they give to themselves and what they meant to both the world and each other is kind of fascinating. Although they look back in some regret you also see the love that still exists between them. This film is recommended for anyone who is interested in music documentaries that delve beyond the music to what all of their time in the sun and beyond meant. You see immense talent, but you also see the struggle. By the way, the music is good. If you remember them or are curious, this is just about a must see.