The Music Never Stopped; An Emotional Viewing

ROYAL OAK (WWJ) - While waiting for "The Music Never Stopped" to begin, a man sitting nearby in the audience remarked that he had been advised by someone who had seen an earlier advance screening of the movie to take some tissue with him because the film is definitely a tearjerker.

Even though I've been known to cry at movies, I told myself that I wasn't going to cry because, after all, it was just a movie. And, after getting more than halfway through the screening without shedding a tear, I thought I had made it. But boy, was I wrong.

The Music Never Stopped is such a heartwarming story, it's hard not to cry. At the end of the movie, even the reviewer sitting next to me admitted that he had felt a few tears filling his eyes.

The Music Never Stopped is based on a true story. According to a studio press release, the movie tells the real-life journey of a father, Henry Sawyer (J.K. Simmons), adjusting to his estranged son's (Lou Taylor Pucci) cerebral trauma and a lifetime of missed opportunities. As the father learns from a music therapist (Julia Ormond) about the songs that animate his son's soul — the counterculture 60's rock-and-roll, (particularly The Grateful Dead) — he begins to form an unusual but emotionally vibrant bond with the child he thought he had lost.

While this journey starts out painfully difficult for the father, he eventually finds out that it is more than well worth the effort. And, he learns a lot about himself in the process.

The Music Never Stopped is based on the essay "The Last Hippie," by Oliver Sacks, M.D. It features the music of Bob Dylan; The Grateful Dead; The Beatles; The Rolling Stones; Crosby, Stills & Nash; and Buffalo Springfield. It was an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

You can see The Music Never Stopped exclusively at the Royal Oak Main Art. And remember to take some tissue with you.

Terri Lee - Entertainment Reporter