Danny Collins reveals itself right at the beginning — “Kind of based on a true story a little bit.”They had to try, so hard. And sound like it, so hard.For when the John Lennon (the emphasis theirs) is the fulcrum — or more precisely an actual letter written by him — you can’t be flippant about anything while still making a film about an ageing rock star who has lived flippantly.

Note that this is no Birdman or a gritty diatribe on the fine line between morality and riches, it's an out and out commercial film rendered with all the commercial trappings of the genre. There are plenty of laughs along the way, mostly thanks to Al Pacino's gregarious performance. The dramatic stuff is also present and handled quite subtly. The supporting cast is terrific, with Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Christopher Plummer and Bobby Canavale as the son. They all have little details that make them fairly likable.