Exactly what a music video should be, fun! Kind of a spoof of itself but it works so well, Chase is naturally funny and Simon just goes along with it.
4 Reviews
Fun
Calicodreamin11 January 2022
Simon and Chase: a brilliant partnership
Rodrigo_Amaro21 June 2016
They don't make'em like this anymore! Neither the song or the clip, it's something magical that only the 1980's could only bring it up and make it timeless, hilariously funny and great to watch even today. Sure, it was a different time, clips meant something back then but this has to be one the best works ever produced. And 30 years later, "Paul Simon: You Can Call Me Al" still impress with its outstanding qualities: simple idea, fast execution and some relevance. Comedy gold act starring Chevy Chase and Paul Simon, with Chase stealing the show from Simon while lip synching the song while Simon is only allowed to repeat the chorus and play several kinds of instruments throughout the video.
The song talks about a man having a midlife crisis asking his values and paths to follow, and the chorus comes from a real incident at a party Simon and his then wife Peggy Harper attended where a foreigner musician kept confusing the couple's name (he became Al and she became Betty). But in this particular case, what you see is more important (but the song is just perfect, with its mixture of rhythms, instruments and that funky bass in one small solo). The video, a concept created by Lorne Michaels, has Chase dubbing the song while Simon seems to play the man described in the song just waiting for his great chance to happen. Chase is hilarious in everything he does here, the minor jazz dance while Paul's singing is just priceless...but the act hits the grand moment when both start a choreography while playing the sax and the trumpet - gotta consider the small set they're in. Truly perfect.
Just to see how important this got: the song was part of Simon's album "Graceland", a landmark in his career and this single was his most successful effort from the solo career, and the album sold big despite the controversy about South Africa. And the partnership between Simon and Chase was good enough to secure another clip a few years later, "Proof" also starring Steve Martin (but that clip doesn't have a page here). Watch it, you won't regret it. 10/10
The song talks about a man having a midlife crisis asking his values and paths to follow, and the chorus comes from a real incident at a party Simon and his then wife Peggy Harper attended where a foreigner musician kept confusing the couple's name (he became Al and she became Betty). But in this particular case, what you see is more important (but the song is just perfect, with its mixture of rhythms, instruments and that funky bass in one small solo). The video, a concept created by Lorne Michaels, has Chase dubbing the song while Simon seems to play the man described in the song just waiting for his great chance to happen. Chase is hilarious in everything he does here, the minor jazz dance while Paul's singing is just priceless...but the act hits the grand moment when both start a choreography while playing the sax and the trumpet - gotta consider the small set they're in. Truly perfect.
Just to see how important this got: the song was part of Simon's album "Graceland", a landmark in his career and this single was his most successful effort from the solo career, and the album sold big despite the controversy about South Africa. And the partnership between Simon and Chase was good enough to secure another clip a few years later, "Proof" also starring Steve Martin (but that clip doesn't have a page here). Watch it, you won't regret it. 10/10
23 years before Community
safenoe6 June 2022
I remember this from ages ago, and it's hard to believe it was 36 years ago! Anyway, I love the video. It's a lot of fun and doesn't take itself too seriously. It's hard to believe that this video was filmed 23 year before Chevy Chase shot to fame again as Pierce Hawthorne in Community.
Pretty weird, yet somehow creative
Horst_In_Translation21 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This is the music video for the Paul Simon song "You Can Call Me Al" and in here he gets help from successful actor Chevy Chase. It is pink-colored music video that runs for slightly over 4 minutes and has Chase pretend to be the singer while Simon plays all kinds of instruments. There is no real story in here and the interactions between the two feel sometimes pretty bizarre, almost even awkward. But the song isn't too bad really, even if it's not that catchy as I hoped it would be judging from the rating. Overall, I have heard several songs by Simon (and Garfunkel) that I deemed superior to this one here and the music video is also not elevating the material that much really. I have to give this short film a thumbs-down.
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