James Dean

Made for basic cable, this biopic dwells on Dean's psychotic, whiny behavior without offering much insight. At the end, his dad says that the reason he never allowed himself to love Dean is because he's not really his dad, but that he really does love him and is proud of him. Dean accepts this, goes back to the set a changed man, ready to work, only to die immediately thereafter.

NUDITY REPORT

Valentina Cervi's nipples may or may not be visible in a sex scene

James Franco's buns are seen briefly

DVD info from Amazon.

bare-bones, no widescreen

Where are the Deltas to chant "bullshit, bullshit, blowjob, blowjob" when you really need them?

Furthermore, the film has the official bad movie flaw - the other characters keep repeating over and over how talented James Dean is - all of which would be unnecessary if the actor playing Dean could demonstrate it convincingly to the audience, which he never does, although he does do a convincing if exaggerated Gorshinesque impersonation of Dean.

The Critics Vote

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The People Vote ...

With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDB readers say 6.5 of 10

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C-. Watchable. I watched it to learn more about Dean and his era. I enjoyed the quirky portrayals of the New York and Hollywood acting scenes in the 1950's, and came away with a feel for Dean which is probably fairly accurate.