33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee (1969) (TV)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Art Fisher

Writers:

Jack Good (creator)
Jack Good (written by) ...

Release Date:

14 April 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Music

Plot Keywords:

Summer Of Love | The Monkees

Cast

Micky Dolenz	...	Himself - Monkee #1
Peter Tork	...	Himself - Monkee #2
Michael Nesmith	...	Himself - Monkee #3
Davy Jones	...	Himself - Monkee #4
Julie Driscoll	...	Herself - Special Guest
Brian Auger	...	Himself - Special Guest (as Brian Auger and The Trinity)
Jerry Lee Lewis	...	Himself - Special Guest
Fats Domino	...	Himself - Special Guest
Little Richard	...	Himself - Special Guest
Clara Ward	...	Herself - Special Guest (as The Clara Ward Singers)
Buddy Miles	...	Himself - Special Guest (as The Buddy Miles Express)
Paul Arnold	...	Himself - Special Guest (as Paul Arnold and The Moon Express)
We Three	...	Themselves - Special Guest

Runtime:

USA:60 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Screen Gems

Quotes:

Charles Darwin: And now my masterpeace of evolution. And here they are, the son of the hat of the book of the film of the tram... of the telephone directory of the same name.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hey, Hey We're the Monkees (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Goldilocks Sometime

Dated, But Not Obsolete

33.3 Revolutions Per Monkey was the last project by The Monkees in their original incarnation, a television special intended as the first of a series. Here the plot line is a bizarre self-satire on the group's "pre-fab" formation as told by a maniacal overlord billed as Charles Darwin. The special certainly suffers from its overdose of self-aware psychedelia and its savage self-mockery, but its basic plot is hardly obsolete - fans of the feature film Josie & The Pussycats should recognize The Monkees' plot line quite quickly.

The special features a number of musical pieces, and among the highlights are Micky Dolenz and Julie Driscoll's soulful rendition of "I'm A Believer" (when the two harmonize their voices blend so well it becomes hard to decifier which one belongs to which singer), Mike Nesmith's bifurcated country-rocker "Naked Persimmons," the group's faux-1956 TV special with reallife 50s legends such as Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis, and Peter Tork's instrumental on electric organ "Bach's Toccata In D."

Some have attacked the use of 1950s rock legends as second fiddle to Monkees, a grossly unfair attack as The Monkees show a genuine respect for the '50s rock genre in the special that was largely lost in the psychedelia and self-important breast-beating about '60s rock through the latter portion of the decade. That The Monkees have remained as fresh and engaging today as the '50s rock legends who appeared on the special speaks volumes about how wrong-headed Monkey-bashing was and is.

The strengths and weaknesses of the special converge in the group's final 1960s performance as a quartet, Mike Nesmith's country-rock classic "Listen To The Band." The number begins with just The Monkees, with numerous young people entering the area to dance. But other musicians enter in as well and the song degenerates into an ill-advised mishmash; Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll's intervention ruins the piece almost single-handedly. Thus does the old cliché of too many cooks prove itself in what should have been a showcase for The Monkees but instead became a major disappointment that nonetheless was no total loss.