One Trick Pony

Some of One Trick Pony's scenes are so good (Simon and his band playing a game of "dead rock stars," Simon and his young son [Michael Pearlman] playing baseball or shaving, Simon struggling to be polite to his crass producer and record company president) they stand out like lighthouses in a fog. Unfortunately, the plot is loose while Simon's character (an aging rock star striving to keep his band and music afloat in a changing scene) is so passive and wishy-washy I wanted to shake him. His presence on screen is appealing but not powerful enough, not skillful enough to carry an entire movie, even his own. The music, most of it, is first-rate Simon (but not exactly hardcore rock, as the script would have us believe), lapsing only occasionally into wimpiness.

I hope Simon writes many more movies, but I'm not sure he should star in them.