Splish splash, I was taking a bath long about a Saturday night! Sound familiar? These are the somewhat less-than-brilliant lyrics from the luminous jazz singer, Bobby Darin.

Darin found fame in the late 1950s with hits like "Splish Splash" and "Mack the Knife." His musical career continued into the 1960s, during which time he united adults and teenagers with his feel-good, swinging sound and brought antiwar awareness to nightclub crowds around the United States. His story, coupled with a great soundtrack, has been turned into a movie that takes the title of one of his songs, "Beyond the Sea."

"Beyond the Sea" opens quite realistically on the set of an imaginary Darin biopic, one which is being filmed by Darin (Kevin Spacey) and longtime friends and business partners Steve Blauner (John Goodman), Charlie Cassotto Maffia (Bob Hoskins) and Nina Cassotto Maffia (Caroline Aaron). An argument erupts over how exactly the film should be structured, leaving tempers hot until a young boy playing the part of Little Bobby (William Ullrich) interrupts, magically transporting himself and Darin to the streets of the Bronx some 30 years in the past, where Darin grew up.

Although "Beyond the Sea" is based on the facts of Darin's life, it has a blatant disregard for reality, time and space. Much like "Singin' in the Rain," the film snaps from one character's thoughts to a completely different time period and location. And of course, there is synchronized swing dancing in the streets.

Little Bobby is a real tough cookie, directing Darin on a breakneck voyage beginning in his childhood, when he survives rheumatic fever much to everyone's surprise. Darin is loaded with ambition and sets out to become a musical sensation. His success brings him into film, where he meets the lovely Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth), who later becomes his wife.

The pace of the film, along with its fairy-tale atmosphere and occasional voiceovers by Spacey, make it totally surreal. "Beyond the Sea" harkens to the days when movies were about good music, finely choreographed dancing and original costumes - at least, for the first half. As with nearly every celebrity, Darin's story turns dark as he rockets towards incomparable stardom.

Unlike "Ray," the story of Ray Charles, which takes place during the same time and even features the same record producer, Ahmet Ertegun (Tayfun Bademsoy), "Beyond the Sea" is not scandalous. Darin never turns to drugs other than his prescribed antibiotics, never becomes interested in women other than his wife and never does anything more jarring than retreat into solitude, a move caused by political unrest, mainly the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy. For these reasons, "Beyond the Sea” lacks the popular appeal "Ray" commands.

Spacey's film is driven mostly by a love for Darin's music and a sincere interest in his story. This tactic works most of the way through the film, but when Spacey, who directed and co-wrote the film with Lewis Colick ("October Sky"), pulls "Beyond the Sea" up from the emotional nosedive and back into the "Singin' in the Rain"-esque happy-go-luckiness, the film goes flat.

The end effect is a bizarre mix of tear-jerking solemnity and silly fantasy, which is basically an exaggeration of real life.

”Beyond the Sea” (121 minutes) is rated PG-13 for strong language and a scene of sensuality. It is playing at select area theatres.