His mind is stuck in the '60s

There’s something a little drab about The Music Never Stopped, an interesting -- though slender -- story about a young man (Lou Taylor Pucci) who loses his memory of anything after 1969 as the result of a benign brain tumor. * Based on The Last Hippie, an Oliver Sacks’ story, The Music Never Stopped alternates awkwardly realized flashbacks to the '60s with action set in the assisted living facility where Pucci’s character resides. * Pucci’s father (J.K. Simmons) tries to reestablish a relationship with his son, a difficult task because Pucci’s Gabriel, a former musician, only can communicate when he’s immersed in the ‘60s music he loves; i.e., The Beatles or the Grateful Dead. * Dad’s pretty much a big band guy who hated his son’s music and all the countercultural attitudes that went along with it. * Still, it’s Simmons’ Henry Sawyer who finds a music therapist (Julia Ormand) to help reach out to his son. * An equal blend of touching and strained moments, The Music Never Stopped has its virtues, but never quite achieves the expected impact.