You Light Up My Life

Starring:Simmy Bow, Terry Brannon (II), Brian Byers, Didi Conn, Tom Gerrard, Martin Gish, Barry Godwin, John D. Gowans, Jerry Keller, Amy Letterman, Melanie Mayron, Ed Morgan, Stephen Nathan, Bernice Nicholson, Lisa Reeves, Joe Silver, Arnold Weiss, Marty Zagon, Michael Zaslow
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

the second star is for not being as bad as everyone says it is
A Victim of Its Own Excessive Promotion
THE WORST MOVIE EVER
An excellent movie to keep for a long time
Train wreck

You Light Up My Life
Starring: Simmy Bow , Terry Brannon (II) , Brian Byers , Didi Conn , and Tom Gerrard
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( Y ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005U125
Release Date: 2002-01-22

Customer Reviews:

the second star is for not being as bad as everyone says it is.......2006-12-05

hey, i upped it from one star to two because no matter how bad it is, its not as bad as i always imagined it would be, and i give it credit for that. plus, its got one of my fave actors joe silver. i wont even comment on the song!

A Victim of Its Own Excessive Promotion.......2006-10-05

Had "You Light Up My Life" been promoted for what it was, a low-budget growing-up film with a quirky and effective performance by Didi Conn, it would be better regarded today. Rather than the minimalist promotion and distribution this type of film normally receives, for some reason the distributors decided that this little film had the potential to make big money.

So they threw more money into marketing than had gone into production, they pre-sold the film with a hit recording of the title song (sung by Debby Boone although Kacey Cisyk actually does the singing in the film) released concurrently with the film, and they utilized a saturation booking technique normally reserved for their weaker blockbusters. This technique involves a lot of pre-release publicity and then opening a film simultaneously in many theatres, with the goal of generating quick profits before bad reviews and word of mouth kill attendance (although a common practice today this was done less often in the 1970's).

The result was a lot of viewers who rightly felt that the film did not live up to its blockbuster billing, and a failure to appreciate the good points of the film. And there are some good points. Conn's earnest portrayal of a reluctant juvenile comedienne and good daughter trying to work out her adult identity rings true. You feel a protectiveness toward her that makes you more tolerant of the cornball elements. The child star vs stage-father stuff with Joe Silver seems genuine and the surreal television commercial material has some good comic qualities.

Kacey Cisyk (a session singer who was opera trained) recorded the song for the film but initially declined to record it for commercial release. She may have felt that it had no potential or maybe she just didn't wanted to be closely associated with a pop standard. So they recruited Debby Boone and her version went to the radio stations and record stores. Cisyk actually appears in the film as one of the bridesmaids.

Ironically, although the song works fine within the film, it hurts the film's reputation. People incorrectly believe that the film was just a lame attempt to exploit a hit record and that Boone was unwilling to allow her own version to be used in the production.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

THE WORST MOVIE EVER.......2004-12-06

This movie is horrible in every way. From Didi Conn's totally unbelievable lip-syncing to the unintentionally hilarious scene where a grown Didi bomb's on stage doing her child comedy act, it is a world class stinker.

An excellent movie to keep for a long time.......2004-10-14

Believe it or not, I watched this DVD yesterday and it was my first time watching it ever. Obviously, what had drawn me to the movie was the title track "you light up my life". The movie itself was an inspiration as well. I must agree with the write up from the viewer below that the primary audience for this DVD is for the young adults who try to make it through life. Let's just say that if you are 25 year old and have the talent of Laurie Robinson to write a song, and sing it with the finest musicians in L.A in their rehearsal room in the first take and then received a big applause from them, you are somebody. I am a musician myself, and I have played with some of the big orchestras at the age of 19 - 25, so I can really relate to this movie. The scene with the conductor and Laurie discussing the ¾ times and the violins up an octave are as real as it can be.

The tune itself is fairly simple, so it was conceivable that someone like Laurie can actually came up with it. As far as the acting is concern, not all the casts were bad. I thought Didi Conn did a great job, so is her pop, the conductor, and Laurie's lover Michael Zaslow.

By the way, I always had the album by Debby Boone, and always thought that Debby Boone sang in the movie. Then one day, I found the original vinyl LP soundtrack in my local Goodwill store for 50 cents, and I was totally shock! The title track in the record was 100% better then the Debby Boone version, and it was not sang by Debby Boone. It was sung by Kasey Cysik, One of New York's top session singers at the time. Here is what Debby Boone had to say about Kacey: "Joe Brooks wrote a screenplay and hired Kacey Cisyk to sing five songs for the soundtrack, including the title theme. Later, Kacey claimed she was never paid for that recording session, and her name did not appear in the movie credits. When the soundtrack album came out, her name was misspelled and she was listed as a "background singer."

Kacey Cisyk is the reason I purchased the DVD. She actually had a small part in the movie. She played the 1st Bridesmaid, and you can actually see her recording with Didi Conn in Chapter 3 of your DVD. She said to Didi Conn after the song Do you have a Piano: that was a really good song, and Didi Conn replies: Thanks Casey. Then you also will see Kacey sat in the studio while Didi Conn talks to Si (your pop in the movie) on the phone.

Anyhow, after watching the DVD, I noticed that my original vinyl LP soundtrack is still the best of the best, Kacey's voice dominates through out the record. They must have recorded the long version in the soundtrack in a latter session just for the record. By the way, Kacey was married to Jack Cortner (Song writter) and later married to Ed Rakowicz (sound man). Sadly, Kacey died of breast cancer in 1998 (5 days before her 45th birthday). Kacey's sister, Maria Cisyk (a concert pianist) also died recently of breast cancer in 2003. Enjoy the DVD and the vinyl LP if you can get it.

Train wreck.......2004-06-24

We love this movie only because you can make so much fun of it during the entire film. Not really sure what the true plot of the movie is? Truly can say that we do not root for the Didi Conn character at all during the movie or do we feel the warm fuzzies that others express. Her ruthless abandonment of her father at the end of the movie goes against all of morality she tried to uphold during the movie. Best parts of the film: The Neptune Wedding Chapel, Didi Conn being picked up in a bar with the worst one-liners ever, watching her flat hair become even flatter during each scene, her feeble attempt to lip-sync to the song "You Light up my Life" and the one after another disastrous 70's wardrobe outfits. This movie also leaves you with a lot of questions: If the film is based in LA then why does everyone talk with a New York accent? Why does she not take better care of her classic Thunderbird? Why was there not a "Light Up my Life 2" made so all the unanswered plots of the end of this movie could be answered?

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