Being somewhat of a child of the sixties (I was born in ’63), some of my earliest recollections of listening to music are of Sonny & Cher. They didn’t have a huge number of hits, but they were insanely popular up through the seventies. Part of their popularity sprang from the various TV shows and specials they did together, most of which I remember watching as a kid. Of course, Cher went on to attain superstardom through her own music and forays into film, while Sonny made the transition from hippiedom into politics. This political career took him from mayor of Palm Springs to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Congressman for California. He held this position until his untimely and tragic death in 1998. Bono’s autobiography, “And the Beat Goes On” was made into a TV movie for ABC in 1999, and is now available on DVD from the fine folks at MPI Home Video. It starts off with Sonny’s 1980’s appearance on the David Letterman show and segues into him telling the story of how he met Cher and created their career.

It touches quite frankly on the often tumultuous relationship the two shared and their eventual breakup. It only briefly touches on Sonny’s death with scenes from his funeral cut in between the ending re-enactment of the duo’s performance of “I Got You Babe” during their brief reunion on the same episode of Letterman that started the film.

Fan as I was of Sonny & Cher, I missed seeing it when it first aired and was glad I had the chance to finally watch it. It is as sappy and melodramatic as you might expect from a TV-movie but was much better over all than I originally expected. My initial reaction to it was a bit of shock when I looked at the cover and saw that Jay Underwood was playing Sonny. The name might not mean much to you, but I first saw Underwood in “The Boy Who Could Fly”, one of the most underrated family films of 1986. I was quite impressed by his performance in that film but have only seen him in handful of projects since that time. Some were not quite as good as others, but there was never any doubt that the kid was talented. He does a surprisingly good job as Sonny in this film, imitating almost all of his mannerisms perfectly. The only place where he falters a bit is in the lip synching sequences when he is supposed to be singing.

Renee Faia has only been in a handful of films, and has done more work behind the scenes. She also does a dead-on imitation of Cher, and even though she only vaguely resembles her, has all the mannerisms down. Like Underwood however, only the singing sequences seem a bit off.

The DVD release doesn’t have any extra features to speak of, though I’m not sure what might have been included. Some older interviews from Sonny or Cher might have been nice, or even some words from members of the cast. The film itself looks pretty good, though as it was a TV movie doesn’t always offer the sharpest image. Some scenes look a little soft, but it is in no way distracting.

“And the Beat Goes On” is a better than average TV-movie that will more than likely appeal more to fans of Sonny & Cher than anyone else. And for those fans I certainly recommend it.

Directed by: David Burton Morris
Starring: Jay Underwood, Renee Faia,
Extras: None
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: MPI Home Video
Release Date: 6/29/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give And the Beat Goes On: The Sonny and Cher Story a B-.