I grew up watching the Monkees on TV, and when I was old enough to own my own stereo, I got both of their Greatest Hits albums. On vinyl. To say that I eagerly awaited the VHS release of their single long lost feature, HEAD, back in the mid-80s is an understatement. I was pestering video clerks for a solid year until it appeared on the shelves. And when I finally watched it... I found myself confused, disappointed and bored. The music was different from the more familiar pop-friendly tunes on the show - darker lyrically and musically - but that was okay. Musical groups evolve and change. The movie lacks a coherent story line and often makes no sense whatsoever, but part of the appeal of their show was its scatter-shot approach to anarchic comedy. The individual vignettes which often spoof classic Hollywood warhorses and which make up most of the movie's length are silly and don't really go anywhere, but then the show was not exactly a story-driven affair either.
Ultimately, what made the show irresistible was the individual appeal of the four Monkees themselves and their chemistry as a group, and the movie simply doesn't give us any of that, substituting instead a bizarre parade of unrelated images and events that lacks for any coherent or unifying viewpoint. It's much ado about nothing and when it's over, the viewer finds himself wondering, Is that it? Was that the best they could come up with, given Bob Rafelson as director, Jack Nicholson as head screenwriter and two months of studio time? Ultimately, HEAD's a harmless trifle, but it's one of those late 60s movies like CHE or HIERONYMUS MERKIN that just leave you wondering when the clowns took over the circus. These movies came out while the Hollywood old guard who were still in charge of the studios were green-lighting stuff that they hoped would appeal to a youth audience whose tastes were beyond their understanding.
The movie might appeal to Monkey fans or maybe not, but keep your expectations low.
Ultimately, what made the show irresistible was the individual appeal of the four Monkees themselves and their chemistry as a group, and the movie simply doesn't give us any of that, substituting instead a bizarre parade of unrelated images and events that lacks for any coherent or unifying viewpoint. It's much ado about nothing and when it's over, the viewer finds himself wondering, Is that it? Was that the best they could come up with, given Bob Rafelson as director, Jack Nicholson as head screenwriter and two months of studio time? Ultimately, HEAD's a harmless trifle, but it's one of those late 60s movies like CHE or HIERONYMUS MERKIN that just leave you wondering when the clowns took over the circus. These movies came out while the Hollywood old guard who were still in charge of the studios were green-lighting stuff that they hoped would appeal to a youth audience whose tastes were beyond their understanding.
The movie might appeal to Monkey fans or maybe not, but keep your expectations low.