Head (1968) is the quintessential cinematic oxymoron: a “G” rated LSD trip, starring The Monkees, with cameos by Victor Mature, Anette Funicello, Teri Garr, and Frank Zappa! Written by Jack Nicholson and directed by Bob Rafelson, Head has the reputation of killing the career of The Monkees. Actually, their short-lived television series had already been cancelled after the end of its second season. A manufactured-for-prime-time pop band, The Monkees were, of course, the first prefab phenomenon; a second-rate ripoff of the Beatles, sponsored by Kelloggs. The brevity of their career was utterly predictable. Despite that, and despite being clearly modeled after Richard Lester‘s A Hard Day’s Night (1964), “The Monkees” TV series (Rafelson was part of the creative team) had fleeting moments of innovative satire and surrealism. The script for Head was reportedly conceived one night when Rafelson, Nicholson and the Monkees were tripping on acid. With the Monkees fad already in its death throes, the creative team plunged into producing the group’s first and only feature as an experimental opus depicting the suicide of Peter, Michael, Davy, and Micky. The result was an epic bomb. Most critics hated it, as did its potential audience. Fans of the boy band were outraged at the sacrilegious nature of the film, while the hippie culture avoided anything with the Monkees name attached. Yet despite all odds, Head became a cult favorite in many circles. Evidence of that may be found in Rhino Records decision to release the film on DVD. With Rhino’s reputation as the Criterion Collection of bizarre and obscure cinema, television and music, that amounts to something approaching canonization.
Mickey’s dive off a bridge sets the opening tone of a spherical immolation. Admirably, the Monkees do not attempt to make a big screen version of the TV show, rather they deconstruct it through a series of random, nonsensical misadventures arising from their attempt to escape their “box.” Their War Chant serves as an apt theme:
Hey, hey, we are the Monkees,
You know we love to please.
A manufactured image
With no philosophies.
We hope you like our story
Although there isn’t one;
That is to say there’s many
That way there is more fun.
You told us you like action,
And games of many kinds.
You like to dance, we like to sing
So let’s all lose our minds.
We know it doesn’t matter
‘Cause what you came to see
Is what we’d love to give you
And give it one, two, three.
But there may come three, two, one, two,
Or jump from nine to five,
And when you see the end in sight
The beginning may arrive.
For those who look for meaning Continue reading HEAD (1968) →
