I had a revelation after I finished watching “A.K.A. Doc Pomus.” This came in a flood of recognition; I had heard (and resonated with) several of his most famous songs such as “Save the Last Dance” and “Late at Night.” I’m not a musician, and don’t take much time to consider the highly personal art of songwriting. That said, these songs linger in the mind and cause you to wonder about the story behind them.
“A.K.A. Doc Pomus”, showing at this year’s Santa Fe Film Festival, does a masterful job of providing its audience with that story. That is because the filmmakers have collected a very intimate set of interviews that provide a real insight into the songwriter.
Here are a few cursory facts about the life of “Doc Pomus”:
- He was born Jerome Fuller in Brooklyn, and had an unfortunate battle with polio. This left him with a handicap, and he used crutches or a wheel chair for the rest of his life. This was only part of his story, as he chose not to let it define him.
- Doc reinvented himself as a blues singer as a young man. This happened as part of an outrageous lie he told to get into a club one night. This led to a career cutting blues records which almost caused him to become a recording star. The stage name “Dom Pomus” was created so his mother wouldn’t see his name on a seedy club marquee.
- Doc had the rare opportunity to write songs for people who influenced him directly. This included many of the blues artists he heard on the radio as a child.
- Doc had an incredibly rich second chapter to his life. This included mentoring several young music artists. He even taught songwriting classes to Lou Reed and Shawn Colvin.
The makers of “A.K.A. Doc Pomus” have done an honest job of portraying their subject “warts and all.” They include sections of his life in which he drank and gambled to excess without judgement. They also wisely avoid providing pat psychological observations about “Doc.” The interviews paint a multifaceted and complete picture of the man without feeling forced.
I would remiss if I didn’t mention the best reason to see the movie. That would be the inclusion of most (if not all) of the songs that “Doc” wrote. This provides the opportunity to understand the songs within a context, and appreciate them more.
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“A.K.A. Doc Pomus” will be shown Friday, December 7 @ 11:30 am – 1:10 pm
For more information and complete program and schedule, please visit the Santa Fe Film Festival website.
To purchase tickets, visit TicketsSantaFe.org.
