I know, I know. I'm not supposed to give away the ending of a movie. But I figure you may not want to invest two hours watching Inside the Osmonds (8 p.m. today, Channel 9), ABC's docudrama about the Osmond family singers.

        But skip out early from Ally McBeal or Becker to catch the final 10 minutes. The real Osmonds — Donny and Marie and their brothers — sing together for the first time in 20 years.

        “It was a wonderful, wonderful moment,” Donny Osmond says.

        You don't have to sit through 1 hour and 45 minutes of bad lip-syncing and leisure suits to enjoy the special reunion.

        While the fake Osmonds mouth lyrics to “He Ain't Heavy (He's My Brother),” the curtain goes up and the real Osmonds step forward: Alan, Wayne, Jay, Merrill, Jimmy, Donny and Marie.

        They've put on a few pounds and inches since we saw them on the Andy Williams Show (1962-71), Ruth Lyons' 50-50 Club in the 1960s and the short-lived Donny & Marie talk show (1998-2000).

Produced by Jimmy Osmond

        Inside the Osmonds offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Utah family that cranked out hit records and a popular TV series (also Donny & Marie) in the 1970s.

        The movie, authorized by the Osmond family and produced by youngest brother Jimmy, portrays Osmonds life as not all puppy love and bubble gum. But by limiting the story to the 1970s, it skips over the Osmonds' real drama of the past two decades.

        Bruce McGill, whose credits range from “D-Day” in Animal House to The Legend of Bagger Vance, stars as the dedicated, domineering dad who tries to steer his kids through show business while keeping their Mormon values intact. (It shows the boys asking the Lord to “help us find a hit song” during bedtime prayers.)

        Portraying the Osmonds in a parade of colorful '70s jump suits are Joel Berti (A Father's Son: The Michael Landon Story), Jason Knight (Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story), Ryan Golden Kirkpatrick, Miklos Perlus, Thomas Dekker (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), Patrick Levis (So Weird) and Janaya Stephens (Left Behind).

        The Osmonds' biggest fans will enjoy hearing the actors lip-sync the groups' hits like “One Bad Apple,” “Down By The Lazy River” and “I'm Leaving It All Up To You.” But the narrow 1970s focus of the film, ending with the collapse of their $80 million entertainment enterprise, misses the truly interesting Osmond family drama.

        Inside the Osmonds doesn't cover the 10 years Donny struggled to put a hit record on the charts; his re-invention as a Broadway star in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat;or Marie abandoning her seven children and husband in 1999 while suffering from postpartum depression.

        Donny spoke candidly about his career to TV critics last month promoting his new PBS concert special, Donny Osmond: This is the Moment (9:05 p.m. March 9, Channel 48), and his new CD of the same title.

        “I've been up and down. Up is better,” says the 43-year-old show biz survivor.

Starting over

        His Broadway debut, Little Johnny Jones, opened and closed in one night in 1982. He went back to Hollywood and started over, taking singing and acting lessons.

        He hooked up with Peter Gabriel in 1987, who helped him produce “Soldier of Love.” He released the song without a name on it because he “still had this Donny Osmond squeaky-clean image,” he says. “So the music spoke for itself.”

        Finally back on the record charts, he was asked to give up his recording career to star in Joseph on Broadway. “That was tough, but it was the best thing I ever did,” he says.

        But Broadway wasn't easy. He had to overcome severe panic attacks every night.

        “You'd think performing in front of audiences since I was 5 years old, the last thing I'd do is get nervous,” he says. “Mine was a servere case.”

        Before seeking professional help, he couldn't walk onstage one night in Minnesota. “If I had a choice of either going onstage or dying, I would have chosen death. It was that bad,” he says.

Donny, Marie reunited

        After Broadway, he reunited with his sister for two seasons hosting the daytime Donny & Marie Show.

        Since that was canceled, he has been working on his This Is The Moment CD of Broadway show tunes; contemplating a return to the stage; and preparing a game show pilot, The Million Dollar Pyramid, based on the old $100,000 Pyramid.

        “There are offers on the table right now to do things,” he says. “I've always had a fascination to do the Phantom ... Jekyll and Hyde, I would love to tackle that kind of role.”

        All of this would make a better movie than Inside the Osmonds. (The tension comes from the rich, famous brothers arguing about whether they should ditch their '70s TV show to become “the next Led Zeppelin.”)

        I can't believe I'm about to say this, but Donny Osmond has won me over. I've even enjoyed listening to his CD, especially “It's Possible'' from Seussical the Musical.

        Donny seems to revel in the refrain: “It's possible. Anything's possible.”

        E-mail: jkiesewetter@enquirer.com.
       

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