Day 37 Get Crazy (1983)

This movie starts off with a parody of the opening of Star Wars and then reveals Alan Garfield and Daniel Stern as two of the characters in the film. I have very little memory of this film at least of it’s , contents what I do remember is who I saw it with and how enthusiastic he was about taking me to this movie. This is going to be an interesting experience because although it’s on my list, it’s something that feels completely new to me. By the way we immediately know who the bad guy is because he kicks a dog like a field goal out into the empty Auditorium.

This is basically a backstage Musical set in rock and roll theater on New Year’s Eve 1983. It looks like the comedy is built to be very self-evident and it sounds like they’re going to be a ton of songs which may account for why this film doesn’t have a traditional DVD release because the music rights probably would have cost a fortune. The theater that they are using to be the front of the so-called Saturn theater is actually The Wiltern theater. I’ve been to many a concert at the Wiltern. It was run down when they filmed this but it was getting a substantial remodel so the damage done during the shoot was not a problem. In a cartoon like manner, title screens come up to label various characters, including the bad guys and they arrive in a helicopter. Ed Begley Jr is the main villain and his two toadies are played by Bobby Sherman and Fabian, this is funny already.

Although this is set in 1983 it’s clearly the last gasp of the 70s, since the drug humor is so open and accepting of taking any kind a medication that might have an influence on your brain. I know that this is time period of “just saying no”, but these people haven’t heard that phrase yet and they’re going full throttle. A Fantasy character name electric Larry shows up with a briefcase full of pills for everybody on the crew to try. That’s the kind of joke that you just don’t get after this period of time. This is the kind of movie where there are black out episodes visualize fantasies and dreaming and then they just pop right back in to the storyline. There’s a lot of wild activity that goes on and they sped up film to make it look manic and that manages to work.

Maybe the best way to think of this movie is to imagine “Airplane!” and then put it in a rock and roll context. There are a lot of non sequitur jokes and a lot of silly stuff that’s going on but all ultimately connects to rock and roll. There is definitely a lot of humor here that is not politically correct and that you could not get away with today. For example Malcolm McDowell basically takes a shower in cocaine and everybody’s having a good time. At one point there is no Blues Band, but there is a Jews Band, complete with Yakamas .This movie is having fun with conventions of the day but they certainly aren’t the conventions that you will find now.

So Begley Jr character wants to take over the Saturn theater and put up a giant skyscraper. Garfield’s character, Max Wolf, is the impresario of the Saturn and it’s basically rock and roll versus the corporate overlords. So there’s nothing original here except for the maniacal jokes, silly slapstick actions, and all around fun that everybody is having. Oh and there’s some music too .  

Maybe audiences did not understand the mix of blues, punk, arena rock and folk that this show includes, but I do remember thinking the show was a blast, and watching it today confirmed that. Bill Henderson does his own singing, as all the actors do, and he is quite passable as the Blues King. I would buy a ticket today, to see the imaginary band “Nada” who have a mix of punk and new wave pop in their act. Lee Ving, who did a lot of acting was also in the punk band Fear, and he does a punk performance that feels quite authentic. Lou Reed plays a Dylan like character who meanders to the show and basically misses it because he is writing a song in the back seat of the cab. His fare is over $11,000 and that is a joke stolen right out of Airplane!. His is the song over the closing credits and it is a bit rough at the beginning but it smoothes out and works well.

The highlight however is Malcolm MacDowell, playing a Jagger like character who takes the stage with the kind of bravado that only certain rock stars can. He has two songs but the big number is “Hot Shot” which sounds like an rock anthem if ever there was one. He mimics moves like Jagger and other rockers pretty well. When there is a drum solo (bt John Densmore of the Doors) he goes back to his dressing room and has a bored orgy with a dozen groupies. The film celebrates and mocks the rock and roll lifestyle.

Director Allan Arkush did “Rock and Roll High School” and if you are a fan of that film, you will probably enjoy this one as well. Arkush wanted to do something a lot different with some of the film but was pushed by the producers into keeping things at a more superficial level. It is his claim that the whole project was really a tax dodge by the investors and was deliberately supposed to tank, ala “The Producers” plotline. Regardless the film is a lot of fun, and I do recall liking it a lot, even though I remembered none of the plot (which isn’t important anyway).

I saw this film because my friend Dan Hasegawa wanted to see it. He was in grad school and I had time off in the summer from teaching and we went to matinees all the time when Dee was working. Currently, there is no legitimate DVD or Blu Ray release of this film. It only got a VHS release. The pan and scan formatting and frame reveals the boom mike on several shots, but the correct ratio doesn’t have many of those moments. I bought this from a company that I think basically bootlegs this kind of material, http://www.thevideobeat.com. They did a nice job with this and include some funky trailers for other youth pictures and an except from a TV show and a short film. It was fun. Kino Lorber has announced a Blu Ray release but I could not wait and still get this in the project. I will be ordering the Blu Ray when it is available, because this is blast and I’m sure music fans will get a kick out of it.

Bonus for you, the Title Track is done by Sparks, who I just saw in a film about their career, “The Sparks Brothers“. Below is a YouTube Clip featuring the song.