An American Family

[lostbeachboy]

What are the goofs... The inaccuracies.. The mistakes?

I've noticed some but wanna hear your thoughts.

[DennysDrums83]

The way David quit was inaccurate.  He actually informed Murray that he quit in the car on the way from one gig to another.  But he didn't actually leave until several months later.

[sockittome]

What are the goofs... The inaccuracies.. The mistakes?

I've noticed some but wanna hear your thoughts.

Oh my!  Where do we start?  Don't get me wrong;  I love the movie, and watch my vhs copy fairly regularly.  But yeah, there are a LOT of liberties taken with the story.

[DennysDrums83]

At the end of the movie, they showed them playing a concert in Anaheim in 1974.  It shows Bruce onstage.  He left the group in early 72.

[Komera]

Coincidentally I had a lecture in my head about this shortly after having found AAF online.  Here's a few points the monologue in my head barked about (in order of appearance) the first 45 mins (I don't know enough about the boys in the 70s to run a monologue in my head for the second half.  I'd do the complete first half but I've actually stayed up too long typing this.  Perhaps I'll finish the first half another day.):

The neighborhood that AAF starts in is actually pretty nice.  Thick lawns, clean sidewalks, flower beds, trimmed trees...  However Dave's described the neighborhood as poor and rundown, specifically noting that there were no sidewalks.

The Marks and Wilson houses in AAF are half way down the street.  Dave's description and photographic evidence show that both of their houses were corner lots.

Carl's gotta study to keep his grades up!  But oddly I've found pages online that describe his grades as rather more akin to the grades Dennis got.  However, I have never heard if Carl's grades were always poor, or if they took a nosedive due to touring, making music, and suffering school harassment.  Yeah, I know, this is an iffy point.  And while we're on iffy points... Carl's actor is too old.  Of course this is because the actor has to play Carl as an adult as well.  THANKFULLY AAF doesn't bother trying to hide the actor's age like Summer Dreams did.  Although the dialogue doesn't seem to treat him as remotely intelligent... because you'd think Carl would be able to figure out for himself that everyone's in the music room if he hears the piano, organ, Murry singing, and Audree calling from the music room.  And then when Audree asks how Carl's guitar lessons went, Carl talks about 'a lot of neat chords.'  I know this is all exposition, but I'm fairly sure real life Carl had more brains than this!

Brian moving into the music room sure caught Carl by surprise!  In AAF.  Fairly sure I read somewhere that it was actually quite a bit more gradual.

Dennis's surf board.  Close... but wrong.

My late father would have loved the scene where Dennis takes off in Murry's car.  All those old cars on the street!  Yeah...  Street's sure packed for an old run down neighborhood, though.

Honk honk honk!  "Mikey!"  I never got the feeling that Mike would have been Dennis's first choice of a surfing partner.  Exposition, yes.  But Dennis DID have surfing friends!

Why is the sun so low during the beach scene?  They were like what?  Ten miles from the beach?

AAF goes with the very popular 'Brian's hearing-loss due to Murry hitting his head'.  Depending on your preference, you may consider this accurate or not.  (Audree's said in interview that Brian has a damaged glossopharyngeal nerve (aka 9th cranial nerve).  TVTropes claims Brian's hearing loss is because of loss of fluid in his inner ear.)  AAF also makes the point of Brian's hearing loss by having him not near Audree.  Of course they also make him distracted, but Murry passes Brian not hearing Audree off on Brian's hearing, rather than Brian's distractedness.  Just because Audree was on Brian's right doesn't mean that Brian's left ear wouldn't have heard Audree.  So you can take Murry's assumption as the inaccuracy.

Speaking of Murry... that fake eye.  Sure moves around like a real eye, doesn't it?  Eeeh!  Don't tell me that you couldn't gouge out the eye of the actor!  If you can get actors willing to lose weight for a role, surely you could have gotten an actor willing to lose an eye for a role!  (obviously I'm joking)

Wow, how long is Mike's shift in the gas station?

Al's portrayed as an 'I recognize you!  We went to school together!  I think we might have even had a class or two together in high school!' acquaintance.  There's evidence on the internet of Al being a bit of a closer friend than that, being at least close enough that Dennis was willing to bum some money off of a friend so Al could get a car.  Al's also being portrayed as not yet having left California, although quite a few people with probably too much time on their hands contacted the various schools Al has been to and in reality he had actually just come BACK to California at this point.  More on this later.

How sad, Judy gives Brian the ring back.  Except this isn't the point in history when they went their separate ways.  Also, more on this later.

Brian and Judy breaking up was the catalyst in AAF for Brian writing Surfer Girl.  ... ... ...  It wasn't.

Al's sure got a nice car!

Murry gives a tour of his machine shop.  Obviously the point here is that Murry has a machine shop, and to show Dennis cleaning the machines.  Without glasses on so that Murry can whack him on the head.  Now, here's the thing... I actually worked in a silicon wafer factory once.  Silicon wafers are what microchips are made from.  Yeah, I know silicon wafers aren't exactly machines themselves.  But it takes machines to make those wafers.  The machines in Riotech were LOUD, and we were working on silicon, not metal on metal like Murry's machine shop would have been doing.  I was the edge rounder (exactly what it sounds like... if the edges of the wafers weren't rounded, they'd chip), so I naturally heard a lot of noise from that machine.  Plus, I was in the same room with six saw machines which were used to saw the wafers from the silicon rod, plus whatever machine was being build on the other side of the room.  Grinder, polisher, wire saw...  Did I mention it was LOUD?  So, what's wrong with the scene?  Ear protection.  And I'm not entirely convinced the people being toured around would have heard Murry as softly as he was speaking at times in that scene.

Brian and Carl shooting down Al's suggestion of asking Murry to set up an audition.  Al actually did ask Murry for help.  For HIS group, not for the BB, but still the fact remains that he did exactly what he was shot down for suggesting in AAF.

Christmas party.  How many siblings does Mike have?  Only Maureen and Stan seem to show up in AAF.  The Christmas party would have been the perfect place to at least place the rest of the Love family in the background.  Don't have to mention them, or nuttin'!  Just put in some background people who just happen to be the correct age and gender.  Yeah, so... incorrect number of siblings.  Speaking of incorrect number of siblings... Murry's got one more sibling not being mentioned, too.

When Murry gives Brian the emergency money... I have heard three different versions of how much money was being left.  SD goes with $150.  AAF goes with $200.  A third person's account goes with $100 per son ($300 total).  Whatever amount is the truth, it wasn't enough.  The boys had to sing for Al's mother (they sang "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" to her) to ask her for the rest of the money they needed to rent all of the instruments they wanted.

Dave trying to get in the band in AAF.  He was actually already in the band.  Dave sometimes likes to joke that when Brian wanted to work on a song, he'd torture Carl and himself (Dave) into helping him (Brian).  The reason he didn't sing on "Surfin'" is because the session took place while Dave was still in school.

Dennis's drumming fail.  No.  Dennis had already gone to the high school concert band for drumming tips.  Granted he somehow didn't pick up that most right handed drummers drum in a specific way, but there's absolutely no way Dennis was that much of a fail at keeping the beat.  Not when you're Brian's brother!

Murry interrupting the Surfin' practice.  Audree has said in interview that the boys had excitedly mobbed Murry and her to listen to the recording they had made.  Brian's told the story a few different ways, but the one he most frequently goes with is that he was afraid Murry would be angry, but Murry wasn't.  And that Murry really liked the recording.  Besides... could you imagine what Al would have thought while watching the band leader being thrown up against a wall?

Recording 'Surfin''.  Actually, Hite wasn't THAT into the song.  Just Dorinda.

Hearing 'Surfin'' on the radio for the first time.  Coincidentally (or not) SD and AAF both put it in the parking lot of a burger joint.  But in one of those super rare cases where SD actually got something more right than AAF, the boys already knew that the band's name had been switched.  Of course AAF having the boys be surprised is nice on screen, just not accurate.  The boys had discovered the name change when they opened the box of singles.  Also inaccurate in the scene (both SD and AAF) is being in the parked when the song came on.  I'd have to go back and look whose interview it was, but I think it was Dennis who said that the car was actively being driven by Brian at the time, not parked at a burger joint.  He also says Dave was in the car, and Carl vomited.  Personally, I'm happy not to see Carl upchucking, so I'll give that one a slide.

Murry watching Lawrence Welk.  "Two Step, Side Step" was never played on the TV show.  It was played on the radio show.

Murry negotiating with Nick Venet.  Murry actually wasn't THAT good with negotiating a music contract.  It makes for a great scene, though!  But Nick has said that Murry had actually been willing to agree to a contract that would have been a literal give-away, and that Nick had been the one to suggest to Murry to set up Sea of Tunes.

Al leaving the band to go to Michigan.  Remember those people I mentioned who asked for Al's school records?  Well, they started out assuming the exact same thing that everyone else assumes, and that AAF assumes: that this is when Al went to Michigan.  But records the schools sent to those people don't match up.  All of the school records show that his time in Michigan was a year earlier than what most people assume.  Not just Al's records, but also those of his father, who was teaching in Michigan that year.  (BTW, in case you wonder how I found that page, I was trying to Google what kind of car Al had in '65.  That page came up because of the mention of Dennis helping Al get money for a car.  I never did find out what car Al had in '65, though...)  According to Wikipedia, after Al left the BB, he entered the air industry.  Presumably he was still going to college, too, since Al says Brian called him before final exams.

Dave joins the band!  Dave was already in the band...  (I love how calm Carl is in that scene after Dennis and Brian storm off, though!)

Murry explaining how the band would be self-promoting.  Oh, don't get me wrong, a certain amount of playing free at car hops went on, and had to go on to promote themselves.  But not as much as the scene makes it out to be.  Concert promoters and organizers exist, it wasn't ALL Murry.  The promoters and organizers liked to get more bang for their buck by hiring multiple groups for a night.  At least one of those groups needed to be self contained.  If a singing group is hired that didn't have a backup band (for example... Jan & Dean, who used studio musicians), either a non-singing band or a self contained group (like the BBs) would also need to be hired.  The preference was on a self contained group because they had their own music and could make a concert longer.  Anyway, the point is... yeah Murry worked hard to promote the band... but it wasn't ALL on Murry to do so.

The buttons!  I want one!  Er yeah...

Change to the striped shirts.  BTW, the "NIK VENET" on Nick's desk is not an error.  Well... maybe temporally it is, but Nick really did drop the "c" eventually.

Writing 'Surfin' U.S.A.'.  Remember that other thing I said I'd bring up again?  Well, this is it.  Because it wasn't Mike who came up with the list of beaches, it was Jimmy... Judy's brother.  In AAF Brian and Judy have already broken up, but in reality it stands to reason that at least at this point they were probably still together.  That or Brian is just so weird that he'll ask his ex-girlfriend's surfer brother for a list of beaches.  Also, notice the scene fails to mention how Chuck Berry'ish the song is?  And I'm not even talking about borrowing the tune of 'Sweet Little Sixteen'.  That's not Carl goofing around you hear at the front of 'Surfin' U.S.A.', it's 'No Particular Place to Go' higher up.

Didn't quite capture the magic that is Mike's dancing...

"This must be what it was like when Elvis started!"  Mike was actually offstage when he said that to Brian.

'Surf City'.  Jan was actually blond, not brunet.  (Why is there a difference in spelling between brunet and brunette when they sound exactly the same?)  Granted he was a darker blond than Dean, but all the actors who have portrayed Jan have been brunets.  Probably has a lot to do with both Jan having turned or dyed brunet in the naughts, and the actor in "Deadman's Curve" being a brunet.  But that's not the only thing wrong in the scene.  The most grievous error is having Jan, Dean, and Brian singing simutaneously.  Which they weren't.  Jan & Dean sessions are documented almost as well as BB sessions, and in the case of 'Surf City', the backing vocals were recorded first by The Matadors with Brian doing subtle falsetto.  After the backing vocals, the lead vocals were recorder (Jan, Brian, and Tony Minichiello (from The Matadors)).  Dean and Brian were then recorded doing falsetto, which Brian suggested double tracking on.  After that error, the next biggest one is having Jan take the engineer's word that the song was good to go.  Jan liked to control the songs as much as Brian did.  If you can't picture Brian walking out, don't try picturing Jan walking out.  And the last big error is Dean saying they had been wanting to put one of Brian's songs on one of their records.  In reality... they already had.  They had already covered 'Surfin'' and 'Surfin' Safari'... with the BBs as the backup band!  Plus, 'Surf City' was not a complete song when Brian gave it to Jan.  What Brian gave to Jan was an incomplete song that Brian had already lost interest on.

Phil Spector session.  Sound-alike-version of probably 'Be My Baby'.  I actually think the sound-alike sounds better than the real 'Be My Baby' backing track.  But here I'm just pointing out that it's a sound-alike.  Oh, and Phil didn't dress like that.  Or talk like that.  In fact, he was something of a mouthy little snit.  There's a reason Dean calls Phil a jerk in that scene.  And we shall not mention that snit threw Brian out of a session once for poor playing.

[Cam Mott]

I look forward to your factual dissection of L & M.

[KDS]

For what it was, a biopic made primarily to entertain, it's really not bad.  It's not a work of art, and surely not as good as Love & Mercy.  But I don't think it deserves the thrashing that it gets. 

The first half of the movie is actually pretty good.  I think the Pet Sounds sessions are treated with respect.  Post Pet Sounds, the movie kinda goes off the rails a bit. 

I put American Family up there with The Doors.  Both movies have since been dismissed by members of the groups.  Both movies focus a lot of attention of scandal.  But both movies are entertaining.  And I realize as a fan of the music of The Doors and The Beach Boys that some things have to be changed for narrative purposes (L&M took some liberties too). 

[37!ws]

How about when Mike's mustache started to fall off? Was that accurate?

[ontor pertawst]

I look forward to your factual dissection of L & M.

Awwww. Poor guy. He's uncomfortable!

[KDS]

How about when Mike's mustache started to fall off? Was that accurate?

I think that happened during the photo session for 20/20. 

[Komera]

For what it was, a biopic made primarily to entertain, it's really not bad.  It's not a work of art, and surely not as good as Love & Mercy.  But I don't think it deserves the thrashing that it gets. 

The first half of the movie is actually pretty good.  I think the Pet Sounds sessions are treated with respect.  Post Pet Sounds, the movie kinda goes off the rails a bit. 

I put American Family up there with The Doors.  Both movies have since been dismissed by members of the groups.  Both movies focus a lot of attention of scandal.  But both movies are entertaining.  And I realize as a fan of the music of The Doors and The Beach Boys that some things have to be changed for narrative purposes (L&M took some liberties too). 

I like the first half, too.  But lostbeachboy did ask what the inaccuracies are.  Presumably to have a better picture of what really happened in mind, which I consider a good thing.

[KDS]

For what it was, a biopic made primarily to entertain, it's really not bad.  It's not a work of art, and surely not as good as Love & Mercy.  But I don't think it deserves the thrashing that it gets. 

The first half of the movie is actually pretty good.  I think the Pet Sounds sessions are treated with respect.  Post Pet Sounds, the movie kinda goes off the rails a bit. 

I put American Family up there with The Doors.  Both movies have since been dismissed by members of the groups.  Both movies focus a lot of attention of scandal.  But both movies are entertaining.  And I realize as a fan of the music of The Doors and The Beach Boys that some things have to be changed for narrative purposes (L&M took some liberties too). 

I like the first half, too.  But lostbeachboy did ask what the inaccuracies are.  Presumably to have a better picture of what really happened in mind, which I consider a good thing.

I hear you, Komera.  And I found your list to be quite interesting. 

I hope my post didn't offend, as I really didn't post about your list directly.  I just want stating that, as a movie, it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. 

By biggest issue is the scene when Brian plays the GV demo to Mike, Mike agrees to help him write the lyrics, and Brian gives him a big hug as if to say "You saved me!!!" 

But, other than that, not bad. 

[Komera]

For what it was, a biopic made primarily to entertain, it's really not bad.  It's not a work of art, and surely not as good as Love & Mercy.  But I don't think it deserves the thrashing that it gets. 

The first half of the movie is actually pretty good.  I think the Pet Sounds sessions are treated with respect.  Post Pet Sounds, the movie kinda goes off the rails a bit. 

I put American Family up there with The Doors.  Both movies have since been dismissed by members of the groups.  Both movies focus a lot of attention of scandal.  But both movies are entertaining.  And I realize as a fan of the music of The Doors and The Beach Boys that some things have to be changed for narrative purposes (L&M took some liberties too). 

I like the first half, too.  But lostbeachboy did ask what the inaccuracies are.  Presumably to have a better picture of what really happened in mind, which I consider a good thing.

I hear you, Komera.  And I found your list to be quite interesting. 

I hope my post didn't offend, as I really didn't post about your list directly.  I just want stating that, as a movie, it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. 

By biggest issue is the scene when Brian plays the GV demo to Mike, Mike agrees to help him write the lyrics, and Brian gives him a big hug as if to say "You saved me!!!" 

But, other than that, not bad. 

I didn't take offence.  I just meant "I swear I'm not bashing AAF!"

And that's not how I interpreted Brian hugging Mike, but I can see how you got that.

[KDS]

For what it was, a biopic made primarily to entertain, it's really not bad.  It's not a work of art, and surely not as good as Love & Mercy.  But I don't think it deserves the thrashing that it gets. 

The first half of the movie is actually pretty good.  I think the Pet Sounds sessions are treated with respect.  Post Pet Sounds, the movie kinda goes off the rails a bit. 

I put American Family up there with The Doors.  Both movies have since been dismissed by members of the groups.  Both movies focus a lot of attention of scandal.  But both movies are entertaining.  And I realize as a fan of the music of The Doors and The Beach Boys that some things have to be changed for narrative purposes (L&M took some liberties too). 

I like the first half, too.  But lostbeachboy did ask what the inaccuracies are.  Presumably to have a better picture of what really happened in mind, which I consider a good thing.

I hear you, Komera.  And I found your list to be quite interesting. 

I hope my post didn't offend, as I really didn't post about your list directly.  I just want stating that, as a movie, it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. 

By biggest issue is the scene when Brian plays the GV demo to Mike, Mike agrees to help him write the lyrics, and Brian gives him a big hug as if to say "You saved me!!!" 

But, other than that, not bad. 

I didn't take offence.  I just meant "I swear I'm not bashing AAF!"

And that's not how I interpreted Brian hugging Mike, but I can see how you got that.

You didn't interpret that hug as being self serving to Mike.  You must be from Club Kokomo.  Just kidding. 

I'm kinda surprised that, in the wake of Love and Mercy, somebody hasn't picked up the rights to AF and released it on DVD, or starting putting it on TV (it used to show on VH1 Classic pretty often). 

[Komera]

For what it was, a biopic made primarily to entertain, it's really not bad.  It's not a work of art, and surely not as good as Love & Mercy.  But I don't think it deserves the thrashing that it gets. 

The first half of the movie is actually pretty good.  I think the Pet Sounds sessions are treated with respect.  Post Pet Sounds, the movie kinda goes off the rails a bit. 

I put American Family up there with The Doors.  Both movies have since been dismissed by members of the groups.  Both movies focus a lot of attention of scandal.  But both movies are entertaining.  And I realize as a fan of the music of The Doors and The Beach Boys that some things have to be changed for narrative purposes (L&M took some liberties too). 

I like the first half, too.  But lostbeachboy did ask what the inaccuracies are.  Presumably to have a better picture of what really happened in mind, which I consider a good thing.

I hear you, Komera.  And I found your list to be quite interesting. 

I hope my post didn't offend, as I really didn't post about your list directly.  I just want stating that, as a movie, it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. 

By biggest issue is the scene when Brian plays the GV demo to Mike, Mike agrees to help him write the lyrics, and Brian gives him a big hug as if to say "You saved me!!!" 

But, other than that, not bad. 

I didn't take offence.  I just meant "I swear I'm not bashing AAF!"

And that's not how I interpreted Brian hugging Mike, but I can see how you got that.

You didn't interpret that hug as being self serving to Mike.  You must be from Club Kokomo.  Just kidding. 

I'm kinda surprised that, in the wake of Love and Mercy, somebody hasn't picked up the rights to AF and released it on DVD, or starting putting it on TV (it used to show on VH1 Classic pretty often). 

No, I interpreted it as Brian's control over his emotions had eroded to the point where even the slightest of his emotions got over-expressed.  I miss working with you!  GLOMP!!!  I wasn't going to mention it until I continued dissecting AAF, but I'll go ahead and say now that I don't believe Brian was eroded and messed up to that degree during 'Good Vibrations'.  Maybe not even ever.  Sure he says drugs made him more emotional, and L&M cast say he doesn't have a second skin... but random drive-by huggings?  Nah.

[KDS]

For what it was, a biopic made primarily to entertain, it's really not bad.  It's not a work of art, and surely not as good as Love & Mercy.  But I don't think it deserves the thrashing that it gets. 

The first half of the movie is actually pretty good.  I think the Pet Sounds sessions are treated with respect.  Post Pet Sounds, the movie kinda goes off the rails a bit. 

I put American Family up there with The Doors.  Both movies have since been dismissed by members of the groups.  Both movies focus a lot of attention of scandal.  But both movies are entertaining.  And I realize as a fan of the music of The Doors and The Beach Boys that some things have to be changed for narrative purposes (L&M took some liberties too). 

I like the first half, too.  But lostbeachboy did ask what the inaccuracies are.  Presumably to have a better picture of what really happened in mind, which I consider a good thing.

I hear you, Komera.  And I found your list to be quite interesting. 

I hope my post didn't offend, as I really didn't post about your list directly.  I just want stating that, as a movie, it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. 

By biggest issue is the scene when Brian plays the GV demo to Mike, Mike agrees to help him write the lyrics, and Brian gives him a big hug as if to say "You saved me!!!" 

But, other than that, not bad. 

I didn't take offence.  I just meant "I swear I'm not bashing AAF!"

And that's not how I interpreted Brian hugging Mike, but I can see how you got that.

You didn't interpret that hug as being self serving to Mike.  You must be from Club Kokomo.  Just kidding. 

I'm kinda surprised that, in the wake of Love and Mercy, somebody hasn't picked up the rights to AF and released it on DVD, or starting putting it on TV (it used to show on VH1 Classic pretty often). 

No, I interpreted it as Brian's control over his emotions had eroded to the point where even the slightest of his emotions got over-expressed.  I miss working with you!  GLOMP!!!  I wasn't going to mention it until I continued dissecting AAF, but I'll go ahead and say now that I don't believe Brian was eroded and messed up to that degree during 'Good Vibrations'.  Maybe not even ever.  Sure he says drugs made him more emotional, and L&M cast say he doesn't have a second skin... but random drive-by huggings?  Nah.

Your interpretation does make sense. 

So you and I definitely agree that the post Pet Sounds BW in the movie is very over exaggerated. 

[Paul J B]

The biggest 'goof' is that Brian is portrayed as a mental case that can't tie his own shoes. He's not and never was.

The second biggest 'goof' is that Mike is portrayed as Brian's equal. He's not and never was. Although he was and is an important part of the Beach Boys.

Part 1 was actually pretty good for a TV movie. Part 2 was horrid and spoiled it from being a pretty decent movie.

Even though I don't think it happened, the part when Brian plays the tape recorder for the record company execs was hilarious. Very enjoyable scene (and in part 2 I think)

Can someone please find the clip or still of VDP sitting like an elf and being a jackass and post it in the VDP barks thread. That way, next time he or HIS people read the board they will see what he has become.

[37!ws]

Even though I don't think it happened, the part when Brian plays the tape recorder for the record company execs was hilarious. Very enjoyable scene (and in part 2 I think)

That's well-known Brian lore; it's mentioned in several of the books.

[retrokid67]

Coincidentally I had a lecture in my head about this shortly after having found AAF online.  Here's a few points the monologue in my head barked about (in order of appearance) the first 45 mins (I don't know enough about the boys in the 70s to run a monologue in my head for the second half.  I'd do the complete first half but I've actually stayed up too long typing this.  Perhaps I'll finish the first half another day.):

The neighborhood that AAF starts in is actually pretty nice.  Thick lawns, clean sidewalks, flower beds, trimmed trees...  However Dave's described the neighborhood as poor and rundown, specifically noting that there were no sidewalks.

The Marks and Wilson houses in AAF are half way down the street.  Dave's description and photographic evidence show that both of their houses were corner lots.

Carl's gotta study to keep his grades up!  But oddly I've found pages online that describe his grades as rather more akin to the grades Dennis got.  However, I have never heard if Carl's grades were always poor, or if they took a nosedive due to touring, making music, and suffering school harassment.  Yeah, I know, this is an iffy point.  And while we're on iffy points... Carl's actor is too old.  Of course this is because the actor has to play Carl as an adult as well.  THANKFULLY AAF doesn't bother trying to hide the actor's age like Summer Dreams did.  Although the dialogue doesn't seem to treat him as remotely intelligent... because you'd think Carl would be able to figure out for himself that everyone's in the music room if he hears the piano, organ, Murry singing, and Audree calling from the music room.  And then when Audree asks how Carl's guitar lessons went, Carl talks about 'a lot of neat chords.'  I know this is all exposition, but I'm fairly sure real life Carl had more brains than this!

Brian moving into the music room sure caught Carl by surprise!  In AAF.  Fairly sure I read somewhere that it was actually quite a bit more gradual.

Dennis's surf board.  Close... but wrong.

My late father would have loved the scene where Dennis takes off in Murry's car.  All those old cars on the street!  Yeah...  Street's sure packed for an old run down neighborhood, though.

Honk honk honk!  "Mikey!"  I never got the feeling that Mike would have been Dennis's first choice of a surfing partner.  Exposition, yes.  But Dennis DID have surfing friends!

Why is the sun so low during the beach scene?  They were like what?  Ten miles from the beach?

AAF goes with the very popular 'Brian's hearing-loss due to Murry hitting his head'.  Depending on your preference, you may consider this accurate or not.  (Audree's said in interview that Brian has a damaged glossopharyngeal nerve (aka 9th cranial nerve).  TVTropes claims Brian's hearing loss is because of loss of fluid in his inner ear.)  AAF also makes the point of Brian's hearing loss by having him not near Audree.  Of course they also make him distracted, but Murry passes Brian not hearing Audree off on Brian's hearing, rather than Brian's distractedness.  Just because Audree was on Brian's right doesn't mean that Brian's left ear wouldn't have heard Audree.  So you can take Murry's assumption as the inaccuracy.

Speaking of Murry... that fake eye.  Sure moves around like a real eye, doesn't it?  Eeeh!  Don't tell me that you couldn't gouge out the eye of the actor!  If you can get actors willing to lose weight for a role, surely you could have gotten an actor willing to lose an eye for a role!  (obviously I'm joking)

Wow, how long is Mike's shift in the gas station?

Al's portrayed as an 'I recognize you!  We went to school together!  I think we might have even had a class or two together in high school!' acquaintance.  There's evidence on the internet of Al being a bit of a closer friend than that, being at least close enough that Dennis was willing to bum some money off of a friend so Al could get a car.  Al's also being portrayed as not yet having left California, although quite a few people with probably too much time on their hands contacted the various schools Al has been to and in reality he had actually just come BACK to California at this point.  More on this later.

How sad, Judy gives Brian the ring back.  Except this isn't the point in history when they went their separate ways.  Also, more on this later.

Brian and Judy breaking up was the catalyst in AAF for Brian writing Surfer Girl.  ... ... ...  It wasn't.

Al's sure got a nice car!

Murry gives a tour of his machine shop.  Obviously the point here is that Murry has a machine shop, and to show Dennis cleaning the machines.  Without glasses on so that Murry can whack him on the head.  Now, here's the thing... I actually worked in a silicon wafer factory once.  Silicon wafers are what microchips are made from.  Yeah, I know silicon wafers aren't exactly machines themselves.  But it takes machines to make those wafers.  The machines in Riotech were LOUD, and we were working on silicon, not metal on metal like Murry's machine shop would have been doing.  I was the edge rounder (exactly what it sounds like... if the edges of the wafers weren't rounded, they'd chip), so I naturally heard a lot of noise from that machine.  Plus, I was in the same room with six saw machines which were used to saw the wafers from the silicon rod, plus whatever machine was being build on the other side of the room.  Grinder, polisher, wire saw...  Did I mention it was LOUD?  So, what's wrong with the scene?  Ear protection.  And I'm not entirely convinced the people being toured around would have heard Murry as softly as he was speaking at times in that scene.

Brian and Carl shooting down Al's suggestion of asking Murry to set up an audition.  Al actually did ask Murry for help.  For HIS group, not for the BB, but still the fact remains that he did exactly what he was shot down for suggesting in AAF.

Christmas party.  How many siblings does Mike have?  Only Maureen and Stan seem to show up in AAF.  The Christmas party would have been the perfect place to at least place the rest of the Love family in the background.  Don't have to mention them, or nuttin'!  Just put in some background people who just happen to be the correct age and gender.  Yeah, so... incorrect number of siblings.  Speaking of incorrect number of siblings... Murry's got one more sibling not being mentioned, too.

When Murry gives Brian the emergency money... I have heard three different versions of how much money was being left.  SD goes with $150.  AAF goes with $200.  A third person's account goes with $100 per son ($300 total).  Whatever amount is the truth, it wasn't enough.  The boys had to sing for Al's mother (they sang "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" to her) to ask her for the rest of the money they needed to rent all of the instruments they wanted.

Dave trying to get in the band in AAF.  He was actually already in the band.  Dave sometimes likes to joke that when Brian wanted to work on a song, he'd torture Carl and himself (Dave) into helping him (Brian).  The reason he didn't sing on "Surfin'" is because the session took place while Dave was still in school.

Dennis's drumming fail.  No.  Dennis had already gone to the high school concert band for drumming tips.  Granted he somehow didn't pick up that most right handed drummers drum in a specific way, but there's absolutely no way Dennis was that much of a fail at keeping the beat.  Not when you're Brian's brother!

Murry interrupting the Surfin' practice.  Audree has said in interview that the boys had excitedly mobbed Murry and her to listen to the recording they had made.  Brian's told the story a few different ways, but the one he most frequently goes with is that he was afraid Murry would be angry, but Murry wasn't.  And that Murry really liked the recording.  Besides... could you imagine what Al would have thought while watching the band leader being thrown up against a wall?

Recording 'Surfin''.  Actually, Hite wasn't THAT into the song.  Just Dorinda.

Hearing 'Surfin'' on the radio for the first time.  Coincidentally (or not) SD and AAF both put it in the parking lot of a burger joint.  But in one of those super rare cases where SD actually got something more right than AAF, the boys already knew that the band's name had been switched.  Of course AAF having the boys be surprised is nice on screen, just not accurate.  The boys had discovered the name change when they opened the box of singles.  Also inaccurate in the scene (both SD and AAF) is being in the parked when the song came on.  I'd have to go back and look whose interview it was, but I think it was Dennis who said that the car was actively being driven by Brian at the time, not parked at a burger joint.  He also says Dave was in the car, and Carl vomited.  Personally, I'm happy not to see Carl upchucking, so I'll give that one a slide.

Murry watching Lawrence Welk.  "Two Step, Side Step" was never played on the TV show.  It was played on the radio show.

Murry negotiating with Nick Venet.  Murry actually wasn't THAT good with negotiating a music contract.  It makes for a great scene, though!  But Nick has said that Murry had actually been willing to agree to a contract that would have been a literal give-away, and that Nick had been the one to suggest to Murry to set up Sea of Tunes.

Al leaving the band to go to Michigan.  Remember those people I mentioned who asked for Al's school records?  Well, they started out assuming the exact same thing that everyone else assumes, and that AAF assumes: that this is when Al went to Michigan.  But records the schools sent to those people don't match up.  All of the school records show that his time in Michigan was a year earlier than what most people assume.  Not just Al's records, but also those of his father, who was teaching in Michigan that year.  (BTW, in case you wonder how I found that page, I was trying to Google what kind of car Al had in '65.  That page came up because of the mention of Dennis helping Al get money for a car.  I never did find out what car Al had in '65, though...)  According to Wikipedia, after Al left the BB, he entered the air industry.  Presumably he was still going to college, too, since Al says Brian called him before final exams.

Dave joins the band!  Dave was already in the band...  (I love how calm Carl is in that scene after Dennis and Brian storm off, though!)

Murry explaining how the band would be self-promoting.  Oh, don't get me wrong, a certain amount of playing free at car hops went on, and had to go on to promote themselves.  But not as much as the scene makes it out to be.  Concert promoters and organizers exist, it wasn't ALL Murry.  The promoters and organizers liked to get more bang for their buck by hiring multiple groups for a night.  At least one of those groups needed to be self contained.  If a singing group is hired that didn't have a backup band (for example... Jan & Dean, who used studio musicians), either a non-singing band or a self contained group (like the BBs) would also need to be hired.  The preference was on a self contained group because they had their own music and could make a concert longer.  Anyway, the point is... yeah Murry worked hard to promote the band... but it wasn't ALL on Murry to do so.

The buttons!  I want one!  Er yeah...

Change to the striped shirts.  BTW, the "NIK VENET" on Nick's desk is not an error.  Well... maybe temporally it is, but Nick really did drop the "c" eventually.

Writing 'Surfin' U.S.A.'.  Remember that other thing I said I'd bring up again?  Well, this is it.  Because it wasn't Mike who came up with the list of beaches, it was Jimmy... Judy's brother.  In AAF Brian and Judy have already broken up, but in reality it stands to reason that at least at this point they were probably still together.  That or Brian is just so weird that he'll ask his ex-girlfriend's surfer brother for a list of beaches.  Also, notice the scene fails to mention how Chuck Berry'ish the song is?  And I'm not even talking about borrowing the tune of 'Sweet Little Sixteen'.  That's not Carl goofing around you hear at the front of 'Surfin' U.S.A.', it's 'No Particular Place to Go' higher up.

Didn't quite capture the magic that is Mike's dancing...

"This must be what it was like when Elvis started!"  Mike was actually offstage when he said that to Brian.

'Surf City'.  Jan was actually blond, not brunet.  (Why is there a difference in spelling between brunet and brunette when they sound exactly the same?)  Granted he was a darker blond than Dean, but all the actors who have portrayed Jan have been brunets.  Probably has a lot to do with both Jan having turned or dyed brunet in the naughts, and the actor in "Deadman's Curve" being a brunet.  But that's not the only thing wrong in the scene.  The most grievous error is having Jan, Dean, and Brian singing simutaneously.  Which they weren't.  Jan & Dean sessions are documented almost as well as BB sessions, and in the case of 'Surf City', the backing vocals were recorded first by The Matadors with Brian doing subtle falsetto.  After the backing vocals, the lead vocals were recorder (Jan, Brian, and Tony Minichiello (from The Matadors)).  Dean and Brian were then recorded doing falsetto, which Brian suggested double tracking on.  After that error, the next biggest one is having Jan take the engineer's word that the song was good to go.  Jan liked to control the songs as much as Brian did.  If you can't picture Brian walking out, don't try picturing Jan walking out.  And the last big error is Dean saying they had been wanting to put one of Brian's songs on one of their records.  In reality... they already had.  They had already covered 'Surfin'' and 'Surfin' Safari'... with the BBs as the backup band!  Plus, 'Surf City' was not a complete song when Brian gave it to Jan.  What Brian gave to Jan was an incomplete song that Brian had already lost interest on.

Phil Spector session.  Sound-alike-version of probably 'Be My Baby'.  I actually think the sound-alike sounds better than the real 'Be My Baby' backing track.  But here I'm just pointing out that it's a sound-alike.  Oh, and Phil didn't dress like that.  Or talk like that.  In fact, he was something of a mouthy little snit.  There's a reason Dean calls Phil a jerk in that scene.  And we shall not mention that snit threw Brian out of a session once for poor playing.

Dennis said in an interview that Brian was the one who got good grades and Carl got the kind of grades that Dennis got.  He also said that he didn't know how to drum right and that Brian had to show him how.  But I still don't see how he could be that bad (he did have a low self esteem when it came to his own talent).

[Paul J B]

Even though I don't think it happened, the part when Brian plays the tape recorder for the record company execs was hilarious. Very enjoyable scene (and in part 2 I think)

That's well-known Brian lore; it's mentioned in several of the books.

I have several of the books but really don't recall that. I only remember the movie scene but I will take your word for it. Funny scene and even funnier if indeed it's fact.

[sea of tunes]

The biggest inaccuracy in this one, to me, is the how Brian is portrayed, especially in 1965-1967.  By numerous accounts, from the studio musicians to friends and family (not named Myke Luhv) Brian was extraordinarily focused throughout this period of time.  It was only near the end that maybe he started to 'lose the plot' (with SMiLE), so to speak.

[petsoundsnola]

By biggest issue is the scene when Brian plays the GV demo to Mike, Mike agrees to help him write the lyrics, and Brian gives him a big hug as if to say "You saved me!!!"  

 
[/quote]


Completely agree.  I thought it was pretty decent up to this point.  For me, this is where the movie lost it's way.

[HeyJude]

Regarding the idea of “An American Family” coming out on DVD, I think it would be quite costly to get the sync rights for all the music (the copyrights for the songs themselves, and also clearing the rights to use those original recordings). Add to that the fact that Brian and many others appeared to not be a fan, and that even Stamos has indicated the film wasn’t too hot, and that allows little motivation to mount an expensive DVD release.

The broadcast rights are altogether different, and this was indeed aired not *too* long ago (perhaps around the time of C50 in 2012) on VH1 Classic or some such thing.

Interestingly, “Summer Dreams” from 1990 *was* briefly available on DVD, but has been out of print for some time. Conversely, it has probably been awhile since that thing was re-aired on TV.

[GhostyTMRS]

Regarding the idea of “An American Family” coming out on DVD, I think it would be quite costly to get the sync rights for all the music (the copyrights for the songs themselves, and also clearing the rights to use those original recordings). Add to that the fact that Brian and many others appeared to not be a fan, and that even Stamos has indicated the film wasn’t too hot, and that allows little motivation to mount an expensive DVD release.

The broadcast rights are altogether different, and this was indeed aired not *too* long ago (perhaps around the time of C50 in 2012) on VH1 Classic or some such thing.

Interestingly, “Summer Dreams” from 1990 *was* briefly available on DVD, but has been out of print for some time. Conversely, it has probably been awhile since that thing was re-aired on TV.

"Summer Dreams" also didn't use any actual Beach Boys recordings, they were all soundalike versions, which I imagine cut down the costs considerably when it went to DVD.

[KDS]

Regarding the idea of “An American Family” coming out on DVD, I think it would be quite costly to get the sync rights for all the music (the copyrights for the songs themselves, and also clearing the rights to use those original recordings). Add to that the fact that Brian and many others appeared to not be a fan, and that even Stamos has indicated the film wasn’t too hot, and that allows little motivation to mount an expensive DVD release.

The broadcast rights are altogether different, and this was indeed aired not *too* long ago (perhaps around the time of C50 in 2012) on VH1 Classic or some such thing.

Interestingly, “Summer Dreams” from 1990 *was* briefly available on DVD, but has been out of print for some time. Conversely, it has probably been awhile since that thing was re-aired on TV.

Good point.  Didn't think about the music.  That's what held up The Wonder Years being released for such a long time. 

Yes, it aired on Vh1 Classic a ton in the summer of 2012.  I remember during the 4th of July weekend, they did a Beach Boys weekend where they showed American Family, the Knebworth Show, blocks of videos / performances, and I think the "Lost Concert."  (Keep in mind, their idea of a theme weekend is to pick four or five things and play them on loop for about three days straight).