Tapeheads (1988)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Bill Fishman

Writers:

Bill Fishman (story) &
Peter McCarthy (story) ...

Release Date:

21 October 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

"Let's get into trouble, baby!"

Plot:

A couple of creative losers accidently become big shots in the video music industry.

Plot Keywords:

Recording Industry | Rock | Blackmail | Cult Favorite | Punk

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 21

1:00 PM

TMC

Cast

John Cusack	...	Ivan Alexeev
Tim Robbins	...	Josh Tager
Mary Crosby	...	Samantha Gregory
Clu Gulager	...	Norman Mart
Katy Boyer	...	Belinda Mart
Jessica Walter	...	Kay Mart
Sam Moore	...	Billy Diamond
Junior Walker	...	Lester Diamond
Susan Tyrrell	...	Nikki Morton
Doug McClure	...	Sid Tager
Connie Stevens	...	June Tager
King Cotton	...	Roscoe
Don Cornelius	...	Mo Fuzz
Ebbe Roe Smith	...	Mr. G.
Keith Joe Dick	...	Mr. B.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:15 | Australia:M | Sweden:11 | USA:R (No. 28764)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Trivia:

The song "Repave Amerika" appears on the soundtrack, written by Tim Robbins and performed by Bob Roberts. This was four years before Bob Roberts (1992), written and directed by Robbins.

Quotes:

Video Vixen #1: [after making the Blender Children's video, the video vixens swarm around Josh and Ivan] Are you guys famous?
Video Vixen #2: How do I look?
Video Vixen #3: Sign my butt!
Video Vixen #1: Teach me to read!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jackie Brown (1997)

Soundtrack:

Tender Love Attack

Dryly irreverent...ridiculous...and sometimes very funny

"Tapeheads", a scrappy, intermittently funny spoof of the music video business, might have been the perfect comedic short, and stars John Cusack and Tim Robbins are effortlessly in the swing of the nonsensical chaos involved. They play two semi-savvy security guards in Los Angeles who start their own company, Video Aces, making hilarious videos for groups, parties, and one deathbed star. It's too bad the filmmakers had to invent a dim side-plot to pad the running time (shenanigans involving a crooked politician and his henchmen which doesn't do much except take away from the movie's primary strength, sending-up the music culture of the late-'80's). Still, Cusack and Robbins create a couple of originals here: nerdy but loose, street-smart without being hipsters or posers, these guys are on the same nutty wavelength, and they never put each other down. They are the real thing in buddy-comedies. *1/2 from ****