Come On Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story
| Come On Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Jon Denny Jacqueline Feather David Seidler |
| Directed by | David Burton Morris |
| Starring | Shawn Pyfrom Rodney Scott Eve Gordon William Russ Roxanne Hart |
| Narrated by | Danny Bonaduce |
| Music by | Steve Tyrell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Randy Robinson Jon Denny |
| Producer | Timothy Marx |
| Cinematography | Shelly Johnson |
| Editor | Michael Murphy |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Production companies | Columbia TriStar Television Randwell Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | November 13, 1999 |
Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story is a 1999 American made-for-television biographical film about the 1970–1974 television series The Partridge Family, focusing on star David Cassidy and co-star Danny Bonaduce through the four years the show was on. Directed by David Burton Morris and written by Jacqueline Feather, the 90-minute film premiered on November 13, 1999 at 8:00pm on ABC.[1]
Synopsis
The story is told from the viewpoint of Danny Bonaduce, narrated by Bonaduce himself and played on-screen by a pre-Desperate Housewives Shawn Pyfrom. Upon landing the coveted role of Danny Partridge, young Bonaduce must contend with the jealousy of his abusive father Joseph (William Russ); all the while, Danny is a sidelines observer of the effect that overnight stardom has on his co-worker David Cassidy (Rodney Scott), who despises all the idolatry and yearns for a normal life.
The film recounts the surrogate son-surrogate father relationship between Danny and actor Dave Madden (Michael Chieffo), who was genuinely fond of his younger costars despite the kid-hating irascibility of his "Reuben Kincaid" character. The film's highlight, which would be impossible to believe if it was not corroborated by witnesses, is the scene where Cassidy impulsively "kidnaps" Danny, whereupon both boys head off on a short journey of self-discovery; less easy to swallow is the scene which contrives a feud between the "Partridge" cast and the actors on the rival series The Brady Bunch (who are identified only by their character names and not their real names).
Cast
- Shawn Pyfrom as Danny Bonaduce
- Rodney Scott as David Cassidy
- Eve Gordon as Shirley Jones
- Kathy Wagner as Susan Dey
- Michael Chieffo as Dave Madden
- William Russ as Joseph Bonaduce
- Roxanne Hart as Betty Bonaduce
- Richard Fancy as Harold
- Willie Garson as Sam
- Mark Harelik as Alex
- Danny Bonaduce as Narrator
- Tara Blanchard as Suzanne Crough
- J.B. Gaynor as Jeremy Gelbwaks
- Scotty Leavenworth as Brian Forster
- Shane Newell as Kid on Bike
See also
- The Partridge Familywhat character did Brian Keith play
References
- ^ Come On Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story at Variety, November 11, 1999.