A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Not the sort of place you would expect to find Elmer Bernstein, Caroline Thompson's 1997 movie Buddy is a family movie about a woman who raises chimps as if they were her children, with them eventually running riot at Chicago's Worlds Fair.  Yes, well.  It didn't go down particularly well with viewers (grossing about $10m despite opening on over 2,000 screens).  Bernstein's involvement stemmed possibly from Francis Ford Coppola's role as Executive Producer (the pair would collaborate on Coppola's The Rainmaker shortly thereafter).  Despite any shortcomings of the movie, the score is beyond reproach, one of Bernstein's most lighthearted and delightful.

Renowned for his scores for adult dramas, Bernstein has not scored films like this very often, but the results have almost always been impressive.  "Beginnings" opens the score with a truly lovely theme, sure to bring a smile to the face.  The playful nature of so many of the tracks, at least in the album's first half, is simply impossible to resist; "Bath" is a delightful highlight, perfectly conveying a childlike sense of lighthearted mischief.  The true highlight of the album is "Animal Riot", which could easily stand alongside anything the composer has given us over the years: vaguely similar to some of his western scores of old, it is rambunctious, fast-paced and a sheer joy, instantly conjuring up images of farcical shenanigans.

The second half of the album is rather darker.  "Red Scarf" is a great "impending danger"-style track (though still with broad comedic strokes from Bernstein, and later a few hints of romance); and "Disaster" is all-out action, of the darkest kind (well, the darkest kind from the always-melodic Elmer Bernstein).  There's more straight drama in "Captured", surprisingly poignant.  The only time the score really falls flat is in "Attack", in which Bernstein attempts (presumably) to produce some sort of mysterious sound through the use of an ondes martenot effect, but it actually ends up just sounding bizarre and too silly by far.  Fortunately, things pick up again by the end, with the dynamic "Sadness" another highlight, and the romantic "New Life" simply gorgeous.  Finally, the end credits piece combines the best bits of the two best tracks ("Animal Riot" and "New Life") to great effect.

Is Buddy classic Bernstein?  No, of course not, but it is chock-full of such charming and delightful music that it's difficult to see exactly who could fail to like it.  Good-natured and tuneful throughout, it's a great album, sadly rather hard-to-find these days, but I'm sure it's available if you set about it.  Highly recommended.

Tracks

1. Beginnings (3:16)
2. To the Zoo (1:15)
3. Shenanigans (2:01)
4. Awakening (1:36)
5. Bath (2:40)
6. Animal Riot (3:05)
7. Scolding (2:07)
8. Red Scarf (3:30)
9. Disaster (1:50)
10. Captured (4:01)
11. Attack (1:49)
12. Loss (2:02)
13. Storm Fear (5:05)
14. Sadness (2:38)
15. New Life (3:51)
16. Credits (3:46)