Copacabana (1985) (TV)

Director:

Waris Hussein

Writer:

James Lipton (writer)

Release Date:

3 December 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Musical

Plot:

Singer Tony loves dancer Lola in 1940s New York, but sinister Rico brings her to his nightclub in Havana.

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Songwriter | Show Business | Stardom | 1940s

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Barry Manilow	...	Tony Starr
Annette O'Toole	...	Lola Lamar
Estelle Getty	...	Bella Stern
James T. Callahan	...	Dennis Reilly
Andra Akers	...	Pamela Devereaux
Silvana Gallardo	...	Conchita Rivera
Joseph Bologna	...	Rico Castelli
Ernie Sabella	...	Sam Gropper
Cliff Osmond	...	Angelo
Dwier Brown	...	Bibi Sutton
Stanley Brock	...	2nd Publisher
Clarence Felder	...	Nick Panotis
Hamilton Camp	...	Nicky Richards
Hartley Silver	...	Husband
Ralph Clift	...	Customer (as Ralph M. Clift)

Also Known As:

Barry Manilow's Copacabana (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L

Company:

Dick Clark Productions

Trivia:

During a late 1985 appearance on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”, shortly before the movie aired on TV, Manilow actually revealed the ending to the movie, leading much of the audience to groan. However, he mistakenly thought they groaned not because he revealed the ending, but because of what actually happened to his character at the end, leading Manilow to comment, "It's only a movie."

Quotes:

Tony Starr: [Improving a musical arrangement for Lola] We'll change the keys! That always works.

Soundtrack:

Copacabana (at the Copa)

Great Manilow showcase

"Copacabana" is definitely great for TV-movie standards, with its production numbers, original music and so forth. It's a total showcase for Barry to run around doing his thing, he makes jokes, funny faces, chases Lola around, tries to beat the bad guys, swings from ropes, scores with a rich older chick, escapes on a plane, fights with his mom, reunites with his dad, and of course, sings a lot of songs!

It's pretty much the story of the hit song of 1978, which is a catchy number, c'mon admit it, it is. You'll even hear a lot of familiar Barry tunes in this one, mainly his "jazzy" tunes. But the original songs he wrote for this flick are great as well, the very obvious best of them being "Who Needs To Dream" which turns out to be one of his most beautiful ballads ever (quite a feat considering he has so many). It's a nice scene set on a street, and just in case you don't get it, there's a not-so-subtle pseudo-subliminal "magic" inserted in a store window as Barry sings the tune.

It's great to have it on DVD, beats the heck out of my 1985 videotape copy from the original airing! However, the DVD is bare bones which well, sucks. Considering there are some holes (like, why isn't Barry's mom at his big headlining gig at the Copa?) and considering the scope, there has to be some cut footage lying around. Even a Barry clip or two would have been nice. But hey, I guess fans like me are just thankful to finally have a nice copy on DVD.