Song Of The Day: Olivia Newton-John ‘Daydream Believer’ (Chew Fu Fix)

Someone brought up the soundtrack for the 2012 comedy A Few Best Men (starring Xavier Samuel and Olivia Newton-John) and I now have it on repeat.

In the film, a young couple meet and after a whirlwind romance decide to get married. All sorts of shenanigans ensue at the wedding including Olivia’s wild, wacky, mother of the bride swinging from a chandelier during the reception.

For the soundtrack, the film’s director Stephan Elliot (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) approached Olivia about recording the songs used in the movie and then having top producers reimagine the tracks as dance remixes.

I really like Olivia’s tracks on the soundtrack, especially the dance remix of “Daydream Believer (Chew Fu Fix).” It’s impossible for me to play this just once.

“When Stephan Elliott approached me with the idea of re-recording all of the songs featured in the film, I thought it would be fun as I was familiar with the songs from the 70s and 80s,” said Olivia in a press statement at the time.

“Having never done a dance and club album before, I was excited to hear what the remixers have done with these songs to make them so clever and different from the originals,” she added.

Olivia also recorded a new song, “Weightless,” written and produced by her long-time collaborator John Farrar, and his son, Max.

I was in the studio the day Olivia recorded her tracks, and I can tell you much fun was had.

The film received so-so reviews, but Olivia’s performance was praised by critics – from ABC Radio National:

The standout moments are all with Olivia Newton-John, who steals the show as the mother of the bride, and the resentful wife of a politico husband. When she’s onscreen the whole thing lifts. She still has an extraordinary magic.

That magic was underscored again when A Few Best Men received a nomination at the AACTA Awards (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) for Best Original Music Score.

In one of her last big awards show performances, Olivia threw down “Daydream Believer” and “Weightless” at the awards ceremony in Australia with a joyous group of dancers.