Posted on by 1000filmsblog

#353 Head

Watched: January 21 2023

Director: Bob Rafelson

Starring: The Monkees

Year: 1968

Runtime: 1h 26min

So. Head. It’s really… something. Now, we’ll be the first to admit we went into this knowing next to nothing about The Monkees, except that they were the One Direction of their time and that they started as a sitcom rather than a band. And there our knowledge ended. Now, after watching Head we know…very little more.

Somehow, this image captures all of our reactions to this movie. Shock, confusion, scepticism, indifference and a hint of “what are we doing with our lives?”

Any plot in the movie is hard to find, but that’s ok – we’re not usually too bothered with plot. There are music and dance numbers, silly sketches and all manners of absurdity, which is more than enough. And to be fair – we would probably have loved to have seen something like this from a favourite band/group in our teens. However, without a relationship with The Monkees it’s a bit of a curious phenomenon.

Can’t fault the fashion though!

So, let’s do the positives first: we enjoyed the self-deprecating humour (“God’s gift to 8-year-olds” is pretty spot on!), the silliness and absurdity, the desert war bits, the walking through sets, Toni Basil, the style and the concept. However, we weren’t entirely sold on the execution of it.

“Did someone say ‘execution’?”

Maybe we’re too spoiled having grown up in a world where Monty Python had already set the standard for absurd, silly and hilarious weirdness decades before we watched this? Maybe we just didn’t get it? While we far from disliked this, we were left with the impression that the viewing experience might have been vastly improved by either being fans of The Monkees, watching this when it was first released, or being very, very high. Licorice tea just didn’t do the trick…

We get you. We also think coke (in any form) would have made us enjoy this more.

What we learned: We don’t do enough drugs.

Next time: If…. (1968)

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#199 The Little Shop of Horrors

Watched: September 21 2018

Director: Roger Corman

Starring: Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Dick Miller, Myrtle Vail, Leola Wendorff, Jack Nicholson

Year: 1960

Runtime: 1h 12min

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Seymour Krelborn (Haze) is a simple employee at Mushnick’s (Welles) failing floral shop on Skid Row, along with his crush Audrey Fulquard (Joseph). Their few customers are mainly limited to the unluckiest woman in the universe, Mrs Shiva (Wendorff), whose relatives keep dropping dead on a daily basis, and flower eating Fouch (Miller).

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Mushnick suffering his third mental breakdown of the day. They opened ten minutes ago…

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When Seymour is threatened with unemployment after screwing up yet another order, he reveals to his boss that he has been cultivating a new plant which he has named “Audrey Jr” and is told he can keep his job if he manages to popularize the plant and grow more of them.

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“She’s a fascinating creature, not at all bloodthirsty and creepy!”

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However, Audrey Jr is dying and Seymour struggles to find a food source for it. That is, until he cuts himself and the plant greedily drinks his blood… Having found sustenance for his creation, Seymour turns the shop and his unusual plant into superstars. But Audrey Jr craves more. And Seymour must provide…

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“What? No! It eats shoes. Shoes. Not dead bodies – no siree!”

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The 1960 original Little Shop of Horrors may not be as well known as the musical remake from 1986, but oh my did we love it! The characters, the plot, the script and the humour are all hilarious and we laughed so much that we were in pain at the end.

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Also, Jack Nicholson has a fantastically creepy and funny, though somewhat hyped up, small part as a masochist seeking dental care

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Roger Corman seems to love him some murderous simpletons who profit from their kills, as the main character shares some clear similarities with Walter Paisley (also Miller) in A Bucket of Blood. However, while Walter becomes a douchebag with his newfound success, Seymour seems to be more aware that what he is doing is wrong, and many of Audrey Jr’s meals are products of accidents rather than cold blooded murder.

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Most of them…

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We loved the investigators (especially the one who lost his kid), Mrs Shiva and her accident prone family, Fouch and his handy salt/pepper shaker, the flower floozies and generally everything about this. It’s in many ways a funnier version of A Bucket of Blood, and we cannot recommend it enough. And while we love the musical version, this one is somehow more charming and has become our favourite of the two. Go watch it!

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Like Audrey, it is an utter delight!

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What we learned: If a lifeform of unknown origin craves human blood to thrive, just walk away!

Next time: The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film (1960)