“The following is kind of based on a true story a little bit.” There is a germ of truth to the opening disclaimer to this simultaneously hackneyed and likable rock-’n’-roll redemption tale. There really was a guy who, 40 years after the fact, discovered that John Lennon had written him a letter telling him to stay true to his art. Danny Collins simply replaces English folk singer Steve Tilston, who never found fame or riches but did remain true to the music, with a fictional American folk-rock sellout with plenty of regrets.
Al Pacino plays Danny as a music celebrity living high on his legacy, doing what looks like a lounge-act version of Mick Jagger on the casino circuit. He’s on showbiz autopilot, performing his greatest hits for the AARP demo with a voice like gravel, numbing the monotony with lines of blow and fifths of booze. The belated arrival of the Lennon letter doesn’t ring true as an existential crisis, but it does get the film out of the tired parody of L.A. rock-star decadence (mansion, Mercedes, young bimbo girlfriend) and into a sleepy New Jersey Hilton. From there, he hopes to finally connect with his neglected son Tom (Bobby Cannavale), born from a backstage hookup.
Like Danny, Pacino has also been a showman verging on—if not spilling over into—self-parody in recent decades, but he’s been on his own career-redemption tour of late. He turns Danny’s showmanship into a character trait, a reflexive instinct to connect with and charm everyone he meets, whether a sold-out concert hall or a gobsmacked parking valet. Even in a momentary bit of banter, Pacino makes that moment feel genuine.
Dan Fogelman, a veteran screenwriter making his directorial debut, actually has better instincts as a director than as a writer. It’s hard to get worked up over the emotional journey of a spoiled celeb who’s milked a bubblegum pop anthem into a fortune. What exactly happened to the earnest young folk singer of the prologue? We never learn. Yet such questions fade as Danny becomes part of Tom’s family. Pacino’s chemistry with Cannavale and Annette Bening (as his not-quite-but-getting-closer-to-age-appropriate love interest) overrides the plot contrivances, and he communicates more about his character by just sitting silently next to Cannavale than any long speeches could. It doesn’t make you forget the predictability of the redemption checklist here, but it makes the trip worth taking.
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DANNY COLLINS Opens Fri., April 3 at Meridian and other theaters. Rated R. 106 minutes.
