Head



""Hey, hey, we are The Monkees you know we love to please A manufactured image with no philosophies.""

- From "Ditty Diego - War Chant"

Head is a film released in 1968, starring TV rock group The Monkees, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was written and produced by Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson, and directed by Rafelson.

Head begins at the dedication of a bridge, the Monkees suddenly interrupting the ceremony by running through the assembled officials, to the sound of various horns and sirens. The rest of the film has no overriding plot. There are several short vignettes that consist of a conflict and resolution, but the film is essentially plotless, a seemingly stream of consciousness stringing-together of musical numbers, satire of various film genres, elements of psychedelia, and references to topical issues such as The Vietnam War.

It's so weird, three That Guy With The Glasses members are necessary for a review.


 * All There in the Script: Very few of the guest characters' names are mentioned onscreen. They can be gleaned from the end credits, but if you don't know the actors involved, you won't know who is who.
 * Belly Dancer: "Can You Dig It?"
 * Berserk Button: Mike really, really doesn't like surprises. And that includes Christmas.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: Almost constantly, even more so than the TV series, and a lot more cynically or dramatically.
 * Some are in-jokes, like the big Black Box on the set they find themselves in.
 * Perhaps the only known instance of Breaking The Second Wall: Mike, in the Civil War scene with Teri Garr, gets fed up with the farce that is acting and tears a hole in the scenic backdrop to leave.
 * In the same scene, Teri Garr's character (in a character) dies, whom Mike revives by kicking and saying "Come on lady, you're not even dead." Inverted: Garr's character is confused that she's actually alive.
 * The end of the diner scene when Peter storms off and the crew start milling into the shot (and we see Nicholson and Hopper).
 * The Cameo: Several: Annette Funicello, Frank Zappa, Dennis Hopper, Sonny Liston, Toni ("Mickey") Basil, Ray Nitschke, a young Teri Garr, Victor Mature, Carol Doda and even Jack Nicholson himself. Although Nicholson and Hopper are cases of Retroactive Recognition as they were only producers of the movie and weren't yet famous actors.
 * Erudite Stoner: Peter, especially during his philosophical and psychedelic monologue.
 * Hammerspace: Davy's cannon at the climax of the film.
 * Heartbeat Soundtrack: Preceding the "Happy Birthday"/"Long Title" sequence.
 * Here We Go Again: They did some of the major bits twice (i.e. the boxing scene, the factory tour, the bridge ceremony, the Porpoise Song, and stuff).
 * How We Got Here: The Monkees running and interrupting the bridge-opening ceremony is explained later.
 * Intentionally Awkward Title: Head was titled as such so that when Rafelson and Nicholson released their next film Easy Rider, it could be promoted as being "from the guys who gave you Head". Also an obvious drug reference.
 * It was originally going to be called Changes, but they found out there was another film being produced at the same time with that title. Then they changed it to Untitled, then Head. Ultimately, Changes became the title of the Monkees' last album from their original career.
 * Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Inverted. Peter recites his highly intelligent philosophical monologue (as passed down by his Old Master, the Swami), and literally forces the Monkees to listen to him. He then goes on to say: “But then, why should I speak…since I know nothing?”
 * Mind Screw
 * Mirror Routine
 * One-Scene Wonder: Frank Zappa, dragging a cow and talking about the messages in the Monkees' music.
 * Pie in the Face: Peter, by an angry waitr(ess) near the end of the movie.
 * Random Events Plot
 * Scary Surprise Party: Michael was lured to his own death…err…birthday party.
 * Funny they didn't celebrate Davy's birthday, too (both were born on December 30.).
 * Shirtless Scene: Micky and Davy.
 * The Something Song: "Porpoise Song".
 * Starts with a Suicide: The film starts off (and ENDS) with Micky Dolenz jumping off a bridge...which makes the whole film arguably his near-death hallucination.
 * Thirsty Desert: A shirtless Micky shamelessly beating up an empty Coke machine (and then proceeding to blow it up) in the middle of the barren desert. Signifies the film’s many fans’ Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * The Vietnam War: Several actual clips from the war are featured, as well as a scene with the Monkees as soldiers in battle.
 * What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?: There was little drug references anyway!
 * Actually, the boys were stoned on pot pretty much throughout the movie. The TV series as well.
 * What Were They Selling Again?: One reason that Head may have failed at the box office was its bizarre television ads which consisted solely of a continuous shot of advertising consultant John Brockman’s face with the word "Head" superimposed on it at the end. The spots never mentioned that it starred the Monkees... or even that Head was a movie.
 * This can be credited almost exclusively to Executive Meddling, though. Even the Monkees themselves didn't understand the marketing strategy. Peter Tork later criticized "those two-minute commercials for Head that were so avant-garde as to be positively repulsive."
 * The spots were a parody of Andy Warhol's experimental film Blow Job, which would still be well outside the scope of public familiarity.
 * Would Hit a Girl: Micky and Peter both punch women in the face during the movie (though in Peter's case, it's actually a man in drag).
 * You Look Familiar: Vito Scotti, who plays the man who surrenders his tank to Micky in the desert, appeared in the TV series as Dr. Marcovich in the episode "The Case of the Missing Monkee".