X X People are seriously giving this 10 stars? I only give it two for the songs, and only some of them. The single biggest contrivance that stuck out to me was the idea that this seemingly level-headed, mature guy just throws a fit one day in a recording session for no good reason and bails out to become a homeless drifter. The second biggest was that after disappearing for two years, she just welcomes him back with open arms--no woman I know would do that. Or a record company. Or an orthodox Jewish father. As near as I can tell, this whole movie was created to showcase a few Neil Diamond songs; the money would have been better spent filming music videos, but I guess they weren't a thing yet in 1980. The level of suspension of disbelief required to appreciate this plot means one serious bong rip.

wes-connors Orthodox Jewish singer Neil Diamond (as Yussel Rabinovitch aka Jess Robin) moonlights as a "Soul" singer. After synagogue, he performs in "Blackface" make-up and wears an "Afro" wig. These wigs were plentiful on New York City street corners when this film was being made. Possibly, they still are. During the opening performance, some men in the audience notice Mr. Diamond's hands are "White" and beat him up. Oddly enough, Diamond is thrown in jail. He is bailed out by his father, Rabbi-rousing Laurence Olivier (as Cantor Rabinovitch). Their conflict is now in the open. Diamond wants to sing pop music, but Mr. Olivier thinks it's sinful...Diamond decides to pursue his singer/songwriter dreams in Los Angeles. He meets perky music agent Lucie Arnaz (as Molly Bell). She is impressed with Diamond's musical skills and agrees to manage him...This update of 1920s classic "The Jazz Singer" has a timeless conflict, but director Richard Fleischer and the producers have no luck in managing the movie. Diamond is never convincing as a young man leaving home to become a jazz singer. He's an accomplished adult pop star and always seems out of place in this story. Given a career due to her famous parents, Ms. Arnaz was largely dismissed during the 1970s; herein, she steals the show with a lovely, appealing and surprisingly natural performance. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of a show to steal and Arnaz' contribution went unnoticed. Still, she can always say she outperformed Olivier.**** The Jazz Singer (12/17/80) Richard Fleischer ~ Neil Diamond, Laurence Olivier, Lucie Arnaz, Catlin Adams

jjnxn-1 Dreadful piece of tripe was a career low point for all involved. Although I heard she is good on stage, a medium whose best performers often can not transition to pictures, Lucie Arnaz just did not possess the magnetism to be a film star. She's bland and uninteresting but even with that she still gives the best performance in the movie! Neil Diamond is a fine singer but as this movie proved his gifts did not reach to acting competency. The great Laurence Olivier sinks right along with the rest by giving a ham-hock of a performance, perhaps his worst ever. Badly directed and antiquated even when shot originally in the twenties this is a total miss.

moonspinner55 Balladeering "rock" singer Neil Diamond's puerile brand of romantic pop certainly has its followers, yet his soggy uplift is an uncomfortable match in this modern-day story of a Jewish cantor's son chucking the synagogue for a chance at mass stardom. The film is a big bogus cliché embalmed in Hollywood-ized Saran-Wrap, and Diamond's acting debut consists of a series of glowering poses. Remake of the 1927 and 1953 films does try to be clever (such as an early scene with Diamond singing in an all-black nightclub), but the minute the love story with Lucie Arnaz is interjected, any energy the movie has worked up goes right out the window (it's just a plot-device, though Arnaz keeps her dignity). Laurence Olivier overacts as Diamond's father, mincing and spitting out his lines in what results as a Jewish parody, and the finale is a laughably cheap artifice. If you really must hear "America" or "Love On The Rocks", you'd be better off with the CD. *1/2 from ****