The Smiley Smile Message Board

Out of the 3 BB films, each actor had a unique approach to the the character they played. So, let's list the people in the BB story, and give our reasons to why we chose that actor.

Murry Wilson:

Personally, I thought the L&M portrayal of Murry was too douchey. I mean, was he really that bad? I like Kevin Dunn's portrayal in American Family. He was angry and a jerk, but he really did love his kids, and that's how I always envisioned Murry.

Carl Wilson:

Tough decision. In American Family, the actor really shows Carl's compassion and leadership qualities. I liked the actor in L&M, if only he had some more lines.

I've always liked Kevin Dunn as an actor.  I think he and Alley Mills did very well in American Family. 

Even though he had a much smaller role in L&M, I thought the actor who played Dennis in American Family was also quite good.   

I think the best Murry was the one in Summer Dreams

Dennis from "Summer Dreams" was one of my favorites,,,,I like how he played the various aspects of his life, he even played him with a raspy voice later on in his life...the scenes right before Dennis drowns where he is swollen in the face and he was walking around drunk was very intense...

I hate to tell you this in public, but your participle is dangling.

I'll bet that Alley Mills was cast because of her ace portrayal of 1960s-era mom Norma Arnold on The Wonder Years.

Marilyn

AAF, hands down.  What was the point of her in SD?  Piss Brian off so he can freak out on the plane?

Carol Kaye

SD!  (But she wasn't in SD!)  She wasn't in a lot of stuff... and yet, she was...

An American Family was my definitely my favorite film. And I know I'm pretty much alone on that ship.

While I think Love and Mercy is better, I don't think that American Family is nearly as bad as its reputation. 

Taken with a grain of salt as with just about every other biopic, I find it entertaining.  The Babe isn't the most accurate movie in the world, but its a pretty decent Babe Ruth biopic. 

Haven't seen the older films in many years, but in L&M I think they just caught Murry at a douchey time.

You can count me in as someone who does not like American Family but at least it's hilariously bad. It's saving grace is that it has, for the most part, the original music.

For me, biopics of this kind are almost uniformly bad but a TV Movie-of-the-Week biopic only multiplies how awful the quality is.

I have yet to see L&M, so I guess I'm not fully qualified to give a completely objective answer, although from all the previews and reviews I've seen, it looks like Paul Dano might be the unanimous favorite for the portrayal of Brian.

I only saw Summer Dreams once, and found it pretty forgettable, for some reason....except for the infamous fake beards!

I really enjoy American Family and I watch it often, even if it has some glitches in its accuracy, some minor and some glaring.  I like all of the portrayals, with the exception of the Wilson brothers.  Brian is played as a slurring knucklehead right from the start.  Carl....well, there's something just a little off with the actor who played him.  Dennis was probably the most believable of the three, but it just didn't seem like him, to me.

I think Mike in American Family was played right on the money, in appearance and attitude.  Murry and Audree were played perfectly.  Kevin Dunn did a superb job, although I always expect to hear that low, gravelly voice of Murry's saying things like "C'mon guys, ya got any guts?"  Dunn has a higher, more emotional sounding voice but he certainly nailed the mannerisms to a T.