Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story

TV Movie
1999
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

574

YOUR RATING

Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story (1999)

Comedy Drama Music

The behind the scenes story of "The Partridge Family" TV show, told from the point of view of young Danny Bonaduce. Problems include Danny's jealous father, David Cassidy's overnight fame, a... Read allThe behind the scenes story of "The Partridge Family" TV show, told from the point of view of young Danny Bonaduce. Problems include Danny's jealous father, David Cassidy's overnight fame, and even conflicts with the Brady Bunch!The behind the scenes story of "The Partridge Family" TV show, told from the point of view of young Danny Bonaduce. Problems include Danny's jealous father, David Cassidy's overnight fame, and even conflicts with the Brady Bunch!

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

574

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination

Photos

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
David expresses disbelief when he learns that the mother, Shirley Partridge, Is going to sing with the band, as if that would be impossible in real life. But the reality is that the Partridge Family was loosely based on an actual pop group called The Cowsills, where the mother did indeed sing with the group. The Cowsills were well-known at the time for Top Ten hits such as "Hair" and"The Rain, the Park, and Other Things", so David, coming from a showbiz family, would certainly be aware of the group and would understand the Inspiration. His likely reaction would have been: "So you're copying The Cowsills?".

Goofs
In the opening narrative, Danny explains that each month when the mortgage was due his brother and sister would sit outside while his parents "Re-enacted the fall of Saigon." Saigon fell in 1975, a year after the Partridge Family went off the air so they could not re-enact it since it had not yet occurred.

Quotes
Suzanne Crough: If we get rid of Danny, can I pretend to play the guitar?
Danny Bonaduce: My, God! Three years on the show, and it's the first time I've ever heard her speak!
Shirley Jones: That's it, Danny! Go to your room!

Connections
References The Partridge Family (1970)

User reviews30

Review

Featured review

7/10

The Author's Point of View

So many reviewers bash this film for focusing on Danny Bonaduce's point of view. For heaven's sake -He wrote it! How could he tell anyone's story but his own?

Back in the day, The Partridge Family was a phenomenon. Other than Shirley Jones and Dave Madden the cast were plucked from obscurity and placed under the glare of the spotlight. Instant fame and recognition. The film deals well with that issue, focusing on its effects on Bonaduce and David Cassidy. Yes, there were certainly many other possible topics to address -But how much can you cover in a 90-minute TV movie?

The film was well-cast, with actors who strongly resembled the people they were portraying. Other than Cassidy, there was little time for character development, but he, Jones, Madden, and Susan Day were treated sympathetically (and accurately according to the interviews I've read). The three actors who portrayed the two youngest Partridges were treated the same as their real-life counterparts: little screen time and almost no dialogue. The real focus was on Danny Bonaduce and how his on-screen family became a happy surrogate for his dysfunctional off-screen family. Shawn Pyfrom's portrayal of Bonaduce was nicely understated. The scenes of domestic abuse and his relationships with his TV family were told from the child's perspective and rang truer than the rest of the film.

The Partridge Family was never high art. What kept it going for four years were the songs and the on-screen chemistry between Bonaduce, Cassidy, and Madden. This TV film shows a little of what was behind that -And what more could a fan ask for?