Movie Review: Lonely Boy

Lonely Boy is a short movie, but it’s a fascinating glimpse of pop stardom at a very
specific and brief moment in history, just after the first wave of rock and roll and
before the British Invasion.

Paul Anka had become a pop star from out of nowhere, rising to fame at the age of
16 in 1957 with his first hit, the self-penned “Diana,” which hit number 2 on
the Billboard chart. The price is, of course, a central theme of the film. If the directors
see Anka as a tragic figure, it is because the sacrifices he has made to get where he is
seem to be very high. He has completely remade his physical appearance and
allowed himself to be turned into a commodity trapped in a protective bubble, a
puppet manipulated by his handlers. He lost weight and grew his hair out. His
manager Irvin Fled speaks quite openly about Anka’s nose job, an attempt to perfect
Anka’s teen idol looks. Still, listening to the interview where Anka describes his pre-
show business self in terms which border on self-loathing, it is reasonable to assume
that he would not consider the price to have been too high or see himself as a tragic
figure. Anka left his hick town to hit the road to fulfil his dreams. As of the filming
of Lonely Boy, he had not achieved them. He tells the camera that he doesn’t want a
career that goes to a certain level, “but no further.” Being Paul Anka wasn’t good
enough; he wanted to be Elvis Presley or Frank Sinatra.

Anka is shown as likeable, his most ingratiating moments being scenes where he is
gracious and friendly to his fans. Lonely Boy follows Anka on several live
performances, from the Copacabana to Freedomland, the amusement park in the
Bronx. What’s amazing to see in Lonely Boy is the adulation that Anka inspired in his
fans. The first time we see Paul Anka offstage in Lonely Boy, he is signing autographs
and kissing the cheeks of his female fans. Anka’s fans are just beside themselves
when they see him. It is like a kind of religious experience, as they are literally
beyond words when they meet him. To his credit, Anka comes off as a really nice guy
in the movie, as he treats all of his fans with kindness, even when they cannot form a
sentence in his presence. As the documentary and Anka’s manager Irvin Feld made
clear, the goal now was to turn Anka into an “all around entertainer.” The thought
was that rock and roll wouldn’t last, that it was still just a passing fad, and pop stars
needed to branch out and find an older audience if they were to succeed long term
in the field of entertainment. Of course, that sounds silly now. But it was the thought
behind booking teen idol Anka into the Copacabana nightclub. In this scene we can
see Anka’s eagerness to please Jules Podell, the entertaining, but notorious, mob-
connected owner of the Copacabana nightclub. Not only does he kiss him, call him
Uncle Julie and bring him gifts, he is even shown lighting his cigar.

Feld is open about his unstinting admiration for his client, as he says that he told
Paul, “God gave you something that I don’t think he’s given anyone in the past 500
years.” A master of hyperbole, just a moment later Feld says, “I truthfully believe
that Paul will be the biggest star, with an overall career, that this world has ever
known.” Of course, now both of those quotes sound rather humorous, as no one,
probably not even Paul Anka himself would claim that either of those statements is
true. But to be fair to Feld, he’s Paul Anka’s manager, so he’d better think Paul Anka
is pretty amazing, right?

Along with the marginalization of his talent, there are several sequences which
suggest his isolation. The most notable is when Anka strips down to his underwear
while everyone else in the room remains fully clothed. On stage, of course, he is
always alone and almost always shot in low angle from below. Even when a girl is
brought on stage for him to sing to, he towers over her. At the end of the movie, the
camera cuts to a close-up of his tired face as his flunkies chatter around him about
next year’s tour, alone and disconnected from the people around him. It is
interesting that while the film shows Anka composing his own material and giving
instructions to the orchestra, it is Feld who at the end is telling him where he will
tour, what kind of orchestra he will have and how he will use them. Anka may be the
engine that powers the machine, but Feld is the driver. What is also important is the
continuing presence of Anka’s entourage. He has flunkies to find his clothes when he
needs to dress in a hurry massage his neck during a long car ride or listen adoringly
while he plays his new song, but he doesn’t seem to have any friends or family
around. Except for a brief sequence of Anka on a bumper car, he is never shown
relaxing or having fun. Even more insidious, there is nobody around Anka to tell him
anything he doesn’t want to hear. All he seems to have is Feld, who calls Anka “the
greatest talent in the last 500 years” and predicts he will be the “greatest star” in the
history of show business. It is a wonder that anybody fed a constant diet of that since
they were 15 hadn’t turned into a monster.

Lonely Boy is an interesting look at a very talented young man, as we see how hard
he has worked to become a star, and imagine how hard he will have to work in the
future to remain one in the fickle world of pop music.