A frank look at being Sly’s brother
Stallone: Frank, That Is (7+, 73 mins) Directed by Derek Wayne Johnson Reviewed by James Croot ★★★1⁄2
‘Iwould be bitter – and he is bitter – and I love that about him.’’ Sylvester Stallone doesn’t mince words when it comes to his little brother Frank. A talented singer, Frank has been both the beneficiary and blighted by the success of his older sibling, as Derek Wayne Johnson’s entertaining, frill, but not thrillfree documentary highlights.
Without Sly being in his corner, he wouldn’t have a Golden Globe and Grammy nomination. However, for many years, the now 70-year-old Frank had to endure publicly performing as ‘‘Rocky’s brother’’.
‘‘I was the brother of a fictional character,’’ he bemoans in one of many, if you’ll pardon the expression, frank, revelations.
Almost as impressive a raconteur and storyteller as he is a stage singer, Frank regales us with tales of his rocky road to temporary stardom, one filled with big breaks and even harder luck.
How his band Valentine’s everchanging lineup included the prefamous Richie Sambora and John Oates, how he went from being paid in smoked fish to opening for ‘‘Bruce Springstine’’, how a bit part and a song in Rocky got him an album deal, but tore his band apart, and how Sylvester’s neighbour Harry Nilsson offered to produce an album, only to be distracted and heartbroken by his good friend John Lennon’s murder.
One of the best sections of this short-and-sweet trawl through Frank’s career involves the Slydirected Saturday Night Fever sequel Stayin’ Alive.
The Bee Gees had been persuaded back to create the soundtrack, but really didn’t want to.
So, after lobbying his brother for a piece of the musical action, Frank suddenly found himself with nine songs in the movie, including Far From Over, which became a hit, as well as Golden Globe-nominated.
However, to Frank’s shock, it was snubbed by the Oscars, something he still blames Hollywood politics for.
A ‘‘five-tool guy’’, as one of the many effusive celebrity interviewees (the star-studded lineup includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Zane and Joe Mantegna) describes him, Frank has also managed to appear in more than 100 movies and TV shows (from impressive turns in Barfly and Tombstone to disasters like The Pink Chiquitas and Terror in Beverly Hills) and had a reputation as a more than capable pugilist.
Here, we learn about his highprofile boxing match against talkshow host Geraldo Rivera, as well as the time he was accidentally shot while in a gun store.
As Frank says, to be a performer, you have to ‘‘have a thick skin – and be bulletproof’’.
Filled with a plethora of archival photos, clips and plenty of Frank’s own colourful stories, Stallone: Frank, That Is, isa charming and occasionally hilarious look at an unsung, humble, ‘‘driven and talented sweetheart’’ (as Arnie so eloquently puts it) of a man who ‘‘could have been making lunchmeat for a living’’ (as his brother famously once did), but instead is still performing to small, sold-out audiences.