(0:36-end mark from the theme from the final season of American Gladiators original run play the camera moves back to see James on top of the slab with the words “The Last Of The Americans” on it before cutting to James in his office physically)
TLOTA:
I'm James Faraci, The Last Of The Americans, and the views I'm about to express are that of my own & some of yours. So the last few times I talked about something either crazy or something movie based on music, I mentioned two different things "The Monkees" or their only cinematic outing "Head" (Cut to the title card of "Head" then clips of the movie as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
And to be fair, this movie even today is one gigantic mindfuck! But there is a story that needs to be told behind this movie and its four stars. The Late Davy Jones, The Late Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith & Mickey Dolenz when combined performed as "The Monkees". (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA:
And to tell the story of "Head", I have to tell the story of how we got here. Imagine yourself in the 1960s you've seen the movies "A Hard Day's Night" & "HELP!" which starred instantaneous musical icons "The Beatles" and you decided to do a series starring four semi-unknown performers to capitalize on their success. Well, that's how Bert Schnieder and Bob Rafelson came up with The Monkees. (Cut to the intros and clips from the first & second season of "The Monkees" and clips from "Behind The Music: The Monkees" as James does a voiceover)
TLOTA (V.O.):
On September 12th, 1966 the series "The Monkees" premiered on NBC and from the start, the series was very lighthearted and silly. However, as the first season went on Michael Nesmith was feeling restrained by Don Kirschner the head of the musical production of both the band and the series. Nesmith and Kirschner locked horns with Kirschner eventually relenting to have Nesmith produce several B-Sides for the first two albums. When The Monkees hit the road for their first tour, they slowly but surely became more comfortable in their musical abilities. Though this is where Don Kirschner returns to the picture. While trying his best to keep the hit-making machine the band was becoming and trying to hold the reigns tighter on the band, Kirshner released a second album while their first was still doing well in the charts. Michael and the late Peter Tork nearly had a meltdown because they didn't expect the album to be out while A) The first album was released, B) The way the album was done without them knowing what had happened and what was on the album, and C)With The Monkees on their first tour. Finally, leading to the moment at the Beverly Hills Hotel in which Kirschner had for The Monkees four individual checks for a quarter of a million dollars and four gold records for Davy, Michael, Mickey & Peter. It was there that Michael Nesmith basically told Kirschner that he and the others felt disrespected with the way Kirschner was handling their music and Kirschner's lawyer shoved the contract in Michael Nesmith's face. Michael's response was to punch a wall at the hotel and say "Yeah, That could've been your face!". Kirschner's career soon ended with both The Monkees and Columbia's music department. While The Monkees continued both the series and making albums they also had plans to do something else after the second season. (Cut to James Physically)
TLOTA:
This is where Burt Schneider and Bob Rafelson met a then young and semi-unknown named Jack Nicholson and this is where "Head" started. (Cut to clips of the movie "Head" as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
Apparently, from what had been reported The Monkees, Jack, Burt & Bob went into a place, got baked out of their marbles, and talked their ideas out into a tape recorder. While filming in June of 1968 their series had been canceled. Then the movie "Head" came out. With a budget of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars, an R rating, and Bob Rafelson in the director's chair, the movie was a critical and commercial disaster! The movie opens with The Monkees jumping off a bridge and from there it goes darker and crazier than the series did. It has the foursome A) In a warzone with Peter getting a photo for a cover in Life Magazine then being repeatedly tackled by NFL legend Ray Nitschke, performing in a concert which is intercut with news clips of events of the day ends with the band being torn to pieces then it goes off the rails even further with insane ideas like for Mickey Dolenz having become a Shiek War Lord in the middle of the dessert with a harem for destroying a Coca Cola machine, Michael and Mickey doing a brief scene in a Western, Davy having to fight Sonny Liston, then having to perform after The Monkees are sucked up into a Vacuum, how he escaped I don't know. Then we have a myriad of other insane moments in which involves them trying to regain what little control they had to the plot but to no avail. Eventually, the movie already off it's nut ends with Peter eventually meeting someone calling themself "The Swami" and Peter relaying what he found out to the others and saying "I Know Nothing" which sends Davy off like a nuclear bomb attacking the set and the studio only for the four to be in the desert to see the whatever this movie has for antagonists The Monkees run on foot for their existences which goes back to bridge to jump off and the four being carted off in an aquarium tank on the back of a truck. (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA:
So it isn't a surprise to me why this movie didn't work except for showing the self-destruction of The Monkees. (Cut to clips of the movie "Head" as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
According to Bob Rafelson who directed the movie "The Monkees were victims in the movie of the industry and the movie was meant to move the band towards a more mature audience." Well, seeing as how their album sales were toast by the time the movie came out and the failure of the movie, the only thing that did happen was to show The Monkees as behind the times and out of the ground to even stand on. So much so Peter Tork left the band after the movie failed. Not long after that after a few more albums, Michael Nesmith leaves and then A-The, A-The, A-The, A That's All for The Monkees! As for Burt Schneider & Bob Rafelson, they went on to collaborate again with Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, and Peter Fonda on Easy Rider, and then Nicholson worked with Schneider and Rafelson on a movie called "Five Easy Pieces" both movies earned Nicholson an academy award nomination. (Cut to the performances of "The Monkees" and to the performers of the four in the years after their Heyday as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
Meanwhile, The Monkees fell into even further obscurity until MTV played reruns which revived their popularity to the point where they were able to tour sans Michael Nesmith who inherited a fortune from his mom who made "Liquid Paper". While Michael did perform on and off over the years with his old bandmates, in 1997 we see The Monkees return to tv with one last special, "Hey, Hey It's The Monkees" sees the foursome return to try and see where they stand with the audience of today which ends with The foursome having one last great concert together and knowing people actually liked their music and with them getting the respect they had earned over the years, which to me is a better way to see The Monkees get a sense of closure more than "Head" ever did. That same year their final album as a foursome "Justus" came out. They performed at Wembley Stadium for several performances with Michael eventually leaving for the last time. You can probably and correctly assume that after Davy and Peter's death that Mickey and Michael will have one last tour together before calling it a career as "The Monkees". (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA:
Now having gone over the career of The Monkees and the movie. What do I think of the movie "Head"? I can say it is a really good arthouse movie. (Cut to clips of the movie "Head" as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
Now even though according to The Monkees, Burt Schneider, and Bob Rafelson it is also meant to be a dark and satirical look into how Hollywood works and destroys us. I can think of better movies that do that situation without having such a weird and absurd plot. I think if the movie was meant to be how the culture was not where it should've been or how we were being shown as a culture in the decline of where we once were. Well if that was the case, WHY DID YOU THROW THE MONKEES INTO THE MIX? Even though Davy Jones said that "Head" was not the movie The Monkees were supposed to make, I say it had to be made but not in the way it was. Had it had someone outside of the band, Rafelson, Schneider, and Nicholson trying to make this movie, it probably would've been more well handled. But as is, if you need to just go into a movie where you need to feel crazy, then I suggest you find it. Though it is rare to find on either Blu-Ray or DVD, I suggest you try YouTube to get the experience of insanity The Monkees gave you. Whether you wanted to see it or not. (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA:
I'm James Faraci The Last Of The Americans and that's my opinion.
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