Looking for an Echo (2000)

Looking for an Echo: Directed by Martin Davidson. With Armand Assante, Diane Venora, Joe Grifasi, Tom Mason. The lead singer of an oldies group reminisces about the good ol’ days and a potential comeback.

“I grew up in the Metro New York area during the do wop period in rock and roll so I know the music well. Iu0026#39;ve also been acquainted with some u0026quot;one hit wondersu0026quot; living in serene obscurity. I discovered I was living next door to the lead singer of a do wop group with a very big hit record for fifteen years only after another neighbor mentioned it to me in passing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis small budget movie was written, directed and acted by people who know the territory. The cast is uniformly excellent with Armand Assante, Diane Venora, Edoardo Ballerini, Christy Carlson Romano and Joe Grifaci leading the way.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eShot on locations around Brooklynu0026#39;s Sheepshead Bay and Bay Ridge in Diners, Taverns, Wedding Halls and under the Verrazano Bridge, the film captures the sense of the Italian Irish Brooklyn that predominated in the late 50u0026#39;s and early 60u0026#39;s and lives on today in small enclaves.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKenny Vance from Jay and the Americans wrote the title song and did the vocals for u0026quot;Vinnieu0026quot;. A small quibble about the music: the big hit from the fictional Vinnie and the Dreamers was u0026quot;This I Swearu0026quot;, a bona fide hit for the real life u0026quot;Skylinersu0026quot;. It might have worked better if they had picked a more obscure song from that era.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne notable attribute about the u0026quot;one hit wonderu0026quot; from the 50u0026#39;s and 60u0026#39;s that I personally know and the way he is accurately portrayed by Armand Assante is how easily they took their u0026quot;15 minutes of fameu0026quot; and moved on to mundane lives as cops, teachers, bartenders, etc. The groups of that era were financially ripped off and rarely got any significant money. This is a stark contrast to todayu0026#39;s reality show contestants who get agents and linger on the fringes as long as they can.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBottom line: this movie was made by people who cared.”