Jolson's life story comes off as well as possible, thanks mostly to fluid direction and Parks' star turn as Jolson. The actual voice of Al Jolson was, fortunately, used in this movie in recordings he made especially for it (avoiding the negative results achieved in other biopics where the actor's voice was used, i.e. "The Buddy Holly Story" and "The Doors"). Of course, Jolson't personal participation, along with the fact that Jolson was a particularly admired star (by his fans, if certainly not by his fellow artists) make for this being a highly inaccurate, overly sympathetic, film biography. How it deals with his failed marriage to Ruby Keeler is particularly interesting, as Parks and Co. dance around Miss Keeler's potential lawsuits.
Review of The Jolson Story
