Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988 TV Movie) User Reviews

Good tribute to Dobie Gillis

[mikeltackett · 4/10 · 14 August 2006]

This film reminded me what made the series so connectible, unique and charming - the "time-outs" where Dobie was being totally frank and honest while speaking to us personally in the park where a copy of Rodin's "The Thinker" holds court.

Quite a bit of subtle humor designed to float over the censors heads and the head-knocking between sweet and decent Dobie and the townspeople's turning on him for the chance for a big check is too close to reality to be considered entertaining. This film illustrates the vast chasm of America's naiveté of then compared to our youth knowing too much too soon now.

Connie Stevens' was perfect here (and still looked awesome). Bob Denver seemed to be less than attentive, bless his soul, but he managed to recreate Maynard Krebbs as a beatnik who ended up a wealthy capitalist while still having no real clue. Too bad they couldn't get Warren Beatty in on this (in 1988 he still thought he was above his roots). All in all a nice return project worth seeing.

strictly for boomers

[blanche-2 · 5/10 · 3 November 2012]

Though "Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis" wasn't the best, it was a delight to see most of the original cast reunited: Dwayne Hickman, Sheila James, Bob Denver, William Schallert, and Steve Franken. Missing, of course, were Dobie's parents, Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus. Warren Beatty didn't return, nor did Tuesday Weld. The role of Thalia was taken by Connie Stevens.

The script is a take-off on the play/movie "The Visit." We find that 25 years after the last episode, Zelda and Dobie are married, and Dobie, who has graduated from pharmacy school, is running the market, now also a drugstore. The couple has a son, Georgie, who is following in his father's footsteps - hand in the cash register, chasing a pretty blond, while Chatsworth's daughter Chatsie (Tricia Leigh Fisher, Connie's daughter) is chasing him. And Dobie, as always, stands in front of the Thinker to work out his problems.

The town is very financially depressed as someone has been buying up all of the businesses and closing them. Thalia returns to town and propositions Dobie. Dobie, despite his fantasies about Thalia, turns her down. Thalia then calls a town meeting during which she reveals herself as the person who has been buying up the town, and she now has the wealth of the town and its citizens in her hands. If they want it back, there's one condition: Dobie must die!

Silly, and not particularly well written or acted, this is strictly for fans of the 1959-1963 show. And today, 25 years later, Denver, Franken, Kathleen Freeman, and Dody Goodman, who appeared in this TV movie, are gone.

For ER fans, Scott Grimes is a teenager in this, and gets to show off his wonderful singing voice -- the high school is doing a musical version of Romeo & Juliet.

Dwayne Hickman and Sheila James look amazing.

I doubt you'll stick with this if you were born too late to enjoy the original.

SPOILERS: Maynard, Why doesn't this movie WORK?!

[arieliondotcom · 5/10 · 24 June 2006]

To those of us who literally grew up sitting in front of the TV screen watching Dobie, Maynard, Zelda and all the rest there is something bittersweet about this movie. It's fun to see them as their older selves. "Zelda" must have had a lot of surgery because she looks exactly the same. There are even a few lines that made me laugh (Chatsworth and his "bor-eye-toe"). But the plot is painfully thin.

Making it into a musical is a godsend. There is actually something catchy about the tunes, especially "She Went Away" (did that kid really sing it?). I'd put it right up there with Michael Jackson's "She's Out of My Life" though the actor wisely camps it up.

So, in the end, when Hickman through Dobie hints that he'd like to come back for another shot, it's like an old friend you haven't seen for years but has worn out his welcome once you've caught up on the past.

There are questions never answered...Why would Dobie and Zelda have a redhead son? Dobie was blonde, sometimes bleached blonde, not a redhead and Zelda had black hair. And where is Tuesday Weld? They took her off the series because she was too sexy and this was our chance to see her again, but nope.

Even getting the answers to those questions, though, isn't worth another session, because you can't figure out the biggest question: Tell me, Maynard, Why doesn't this WORK?!....WORK?!

Based on a classic play

[Univac · 12 February 2003]

The plot of this film was lifted directly from Friedrich Durenmatt's play, Der Besuch die Alten Dame (The Visit of the Old Lady). It was an indictment of capitalism by Durenmatt, a radical Swiss socialist. Ironic that someone chose this as the plot device in an obvious attempt to cash in on America's preoccupation with its youth.

Too little, too late for a show that didn't get much syndication.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 3 December 2021]

Audiences cared about the castaways, the Brady's and even the hillbillies in a very bad TV movie. They had basically forgotten about Dobie Gillis that outside of a 1953 MGM musical didn't get much air play on syndicated local TV stations. Certainly it's a good try, basically a ripoff of the recent not so successful "Back to the Beach" that reunited Frankie and Annette, but only the most devoted of early 60's TV viewers would care about Dobie, Zelda, Maynard and to a much lesser extent Thalia.

It's a weak parody as many have mentioned of the play and much later musical "The Visit" where the now wealthy Thalia (Connie Stevens) shows up like Donna Mills promising to rescue the town if Dobie leaves the sensible Zelda to be with her. The fact that Dwayne Hickman's Dobie ended up married to Sheila Kuehl's Zelda is comic in itself, and there's even a scene of confrontation between Stevens and Kuehl seems to be preparing for a Joan Collins/Linda Evans type catfight that never happens.

The four leads are not very good, and Kuehl in particular seems awkward with her line delivery. Stevens, taking over for Tuesday Weld (a regular in season one only) is truly dreadful, her character with no heart and little brain, just an overdressed shrew. Veteran character actors William Schallert, Dody Goodman and Kathleen Freeman fare much better. The storyline for the younger characters is a real waste of time filled with amateurish musical numbers surrounding a high school production of "Romeo and Juliet" that features a happy ending. This is closer to "the eye roll" than "the head of".

One of the Most Surreal Movies I've Ever Seen

[feratu22 · 6/10 · 30 August 2007]

I know nothing about Dobie Gillis. Never saw the show, and I didn't know Denver was famous before Gilligans island. I was up with my friend late one night and I change the channel to Shotime where this was playing. I think I must have started watching about 30 minutes in, and this is one of the most bizarre movies I have ever seen. In fact it was much better the first time when I had no idea what was going on.

This is one of the greatest WTF movies I have ever seen. Why was it made? What is up with these insane stereotypes? Who was this movie made for? What year is this supposed to be? Is this supposed to be funny? Intentionally? Did someone slip me the brown acid on the hill when I wasn't looking? Etc. Just scene after scene of jaw-dropping stupidity. The girl-shy jock has to be one of the greatest, most pathetic characters I've ever seen.

I'm giving it a 6 of ten for serious camp value. Rent it. Skip the first couple of scenes (trust me on this, if you know the plot, its not as good). This is just one of those movies that makes you question reality. Highly recommended for fans of bad cinema.

Okay for fans; I've seen worse reunion shows

[trogsense · 7/10 · 8 January 2024]

I found a recording of this on an old VHS tape and surprised myself by watching the whole thing. It suffers from the same problems most reunion shows have. A story that can be stretched into a long feature never feels quite right for characters you would normally deal with for a half hour. And, the problem of dealing with replacement actors who just aren't quite right, even if they aren't "bad", per se. Maynard having Gilligan hair also bugged me more than it should have, probably! :D

Repeating the old Dobie/Zelda unrequited love comedy dynamic with their son Georgie and Chatsworth's daughter Chatsie feels a little forced. The big difference being that, while Chatsie is ever-present and pushy, she's also absolutely ADORABLE! I mean, she's played by Princess Leia's half-sister, c'mon! This in contrast to Zelda, whom I believe Maynard once described as a "spooky-lookin' chick"!

Still, as reunion shows go, it's one of the better ones, mainly due to the returning actors, and Dwayne Hickman in particular. If you loved the original, you'll probably be okay with it. If not, I probably we wouldn't bother.

This is Durenmatt's 'The Visit' brilliantly adapted to the Dobie Gillis world

[ecbaldwin · 9/10 · 25 September 2006]

Unlike most sit-com reunions which are overly sentimental and sappy, 'Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis' is a somewhat less dark interpretation of Durenmatt's thesis that money can buy anything. And while in the end Dobie is left alive, the thesis is also alive and well at the end of the movie. The attempt is bold and audacious, not completely successful, and enthralling. Even Connie Stevens acquits herself with grace. The old sit-com relationships are also revisited with considerable irony for those familiar with the original show. I recommend this film to anyone with an interest in 20th century theatre (particulary if they also enjoy Dobie Gillis). It's thought- provoking, audacious, and outrageously funny.

The movie that didn't take itself seriously.

[Tom_Barrister · 10/10 · 6 July 2021]

What many other reviewers don't understand is that this movie was intended to be tongue-in-cheek from the word "go." . The plot isn't important, and the acting is supposed to be overstated and corny. Unlike the pilot from a decade earlier ("Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis), which actually tried to restart a sequel to the original series, this movie has no such aim: There were no plans for a sequel or a new "Dobie" series, and the movie is mostly an excuse for Dwayne Hickman, Bob Denver, and Sheila James-Kuehl to get together again and recreate some of the antics they did in the series. William Schallert returns as Mr. Pomfritt (and is actually playing the piano), and Steve Franken is there as Chatsworth. The actors who played Dobie's parents weren't present; Frank Faylen had died three years prior to the movie, and Florida Friebus was probably too ill to participate; she passed away a few months after it aired, as did the original show's creator Max Shulman.

Much content is inserted for the boomers to remember: There is a reference to Denver's "Gilligan's Island" when Thalia mentions rescuing Maynard from a desert island. Many things that happened and existed in the old series appear here: Maynard's aversion to the word "Work!" is here, as well as a collection of his malaprops, misunderstanding of situations, and overreactions. Several of the old routines Dobie and Maynard did are recreated here. As in the original, Hickman does fourth-estate monologues in front of a backdrop containing a plaster replica of "The Thinker." One bit you won't want to miss is Hickman's talk with his movie-son, especially his classic line: "The Birds and the Bees are about plumbing."

It's unclear whether Tuesday Weld was asked to appear as Thalia. In any case, it didn't happen. Instead, Connie Stevens took the role and managed to create a sinister (and slightly over-the-top) version of Thalia.

While this TV movie is hard to get hold of, you can view full-length copies of it on certain video sites, and if you're a fan of the old series, you won't be disappointed with this effort. Just ignore the plot and enjoy the people and antics.

more cheese than a pizza shop

[bbq_s2 · 26 January 2003]

This movie was so badly acted and so corny I had to laugh at it, and that is exactly what I mean I laughed at it not with it, also there seemed to be few subtle references to other sixties shows, but as I was drifitng in and out of the house I did not get a chance to really concentrate on the whole movie, I give it 2 stars for the cheese!