Well, that was one possible reason for the title of The Monkee's one and only film from 1968: HEAD. Easily one of the best psychedelic movies of the decade, HEAD was a self-deconstruction of the manufactured band and a sundering of Old Hollywood versus New Hollywood. Co-written by Jack Nicholson, featuring clever and satirical moments with stellar songs, HEAD was rated G and ignored by the young fans who would have been horrified by actual Vietnam atrocity footage and a non-linear yet circular story. Anyway, I've loved this movie since youth, particulary the beautiful "Porpoise Song" by Carole King that opens it up.

Apropos of that, Edgar Wright has programmed the New Beverly theater for the month and I finally managed to the six blocks it takes to get there for the Friday night double feature of HEAD and Russ Myer's fantastic BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Wright also snagged Mickey Dolenz so that it made it worth the walk alone.

The place was fairly packed and Wright, a humble and funny host, read a note from Rober Ebert, who wrote the screenplay for BTVOTD. Ebert expressed joy the film was still going strong and he offered it up for somebody to make a musical adaptation. Heads whirred in the industry crowd. Was that Diablo Cody in the leopard skin jacket? Who were the gay comics in front of me? Ebert lefts us with a grand "Remember, It's my happening and it freaks me out!" to the audience's warm applause.

The film worked the crowd over like it probably did in 1970, except it still remains bizzare and shocking to this day. Thanks to Myer's rat-a-tat editing, the film moves like a mother, each frame perfectly composed. Z-Man remains one of the screen's great villains and his ridiculous Oscar Wilde-style remains imminently quotable.

Of course the real treat of the night was Mickey Dolenz in the flesh (and sytlish white suit and hat) who had cool stories about the making of the film and provided a great bit of info on my other favorite Monkee's song in the film, "As We Go Along" -- that Ry Cooder and Neil Young play guitar on this stellar track!

Edgar Wright also admitted he wished he could be stoned for the screening, but he didn't want to screw up the Q&A...I think the audience got high enough for him...