One-Trick Pony (film)
| One-Trick Pony | |
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| Directed by | Robert M. Young |
| Produced by | Michael Tannen |
| Written by | Paul Simon |
| Starring |
Paul Simon Blair Brown Rip Torn |
| Music by | Paul Simon |
| Cinematography | Dick Bush |
| Edited by | Edward Beyer Barry Malkin David Ray |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $843,215 |
One-Trick Pony is a 1980 feature film written by and starring Paul Simon and directed by Robert M. Young. It also stars Blair Brown, Rip Torn, Joan Hackett, Michael Pearlman, and Allen Garfield (credited under his birth name, Allen Goorwitz).
The song "Late in the Evening," from the film's soundtrack, hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the title song peaked at #40. After years of being available only on videocassette and laserdisc, One-Trick Pony was released by Warner Bros. on DVD in 2009.
Paul Simon plays Jonah Levin, a once-popular folk-rock musician who hasn't had a hit in ten years, and now opens for bands like the B-52's (Levin's bandmates are played by musicians Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Tony Levin, and Richard Tee, all of whom similarly backed Simon on One-Trick Pony's soundtrack album). He's trying to record a new album but faces a number of obstacles, including an indifferent record-company executive (Rip Torn) who's pressuring him to create a hit record with the help of a trendy producer (Lou Reed). Jonah is also trying to restore his relationship with his estranged wife, Marion (Blair Brown), and young son, Matty (Michael Pearlman).
The title derives from a colloquial American expression meaning a person specializing in only one area, having only one talent, or of limited ability.
The film has been said to be based on experiences in Simon's professional and personal life. Walter Fox, the record company executive portrayed by Rip Torn, was rumored to be based on Walter Yetnikoff, who was President of CBS Records, Simon's former label, in the 1970s. (Simon went to Warner Bros. Records at the time of the film's release. The label, owned by the film's distributor, acquired the masters of Simon's CBS catalog that same year.) The film featured the last appearance of the original members of The Lovin' Spoonful, in a simulated TV show appearance.
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