Originally Aired: VH1 Television Network, June 28, 2000
9-11pm EST 120-Minute Made-For-TV Movie
Synopsis
Starting off in a modern day TV executive's office with thousands of failed TV pilot scripts, a guy tries to sell his idea of a TV show about a band, such as The Monkees. This made-for-TV bio quickly ends up in 1965 when auditions for The Monkees are being held. At these auditions, a major part of the story takes place when Don Kirshner is hired as the Monkees music supervisor & tells the producers, "To tell you the truth, it doesn't really matter to me who these boys are. You give me a free hand & I'll have them out selling the Beatles in 6 months."
During Micky Dolenz's audition, he ends up crushing the tower of cups show creator, "Van" (Bob Rafelson & Bert Schneider as one character), was building & shouts "Checkmate!" with a mischiefous grin on his face. For Mike Nesmith's audition, he walks in with a bag of laundry and says, "Now, what's this here all about, because you can see I got a little bag of laundry to do, so 'bout how long is this gonna take?" Cutting to Peter Tork's audition, Van & Harris (Executive) throw a paper airplane back & forth to pass the time, when Peter jumps in and takes the opportunity to catch it in his mouth, growl, and shake his head back & forth. For Davy Jones's audition we find him dancing around saying, "You want more? I got a million of 'em," as Harris quietly tells Van how many teen magazines he'd sell. Van replies, "Do you know how many magazines he'd have to stand on to be seen?"
Finally, after sorting throught hundreds of photos, they pick the guys and later gather them all for the first time to tell them what their main focus is: "We want people to believe that you four are best friends." After their little talk with the producers, the four of them go out to lunch to get to know each other. After Davy shouts "You guys are pigs!" when they dig into their meals, he takes a fist full ofalad and smashest into his face, starting a food fight.
The movie then takes us to the Monkees' first recording session. Peter & Mike bring their guitars not knowing they wouldn't be allowed to play and get told to "Be realistic" because they were only doing the vocals. It is at this time when the famous scene where Micky Dolenz pours Coke on Don Kirshner's head occurs (used water in the movie). After filming the pilot episode for the show, they get the news that they were the lowest tested pilot in NBC's history. But, after Van & Harris come up with the idea of adding Davy & Mike's screen tests to the show, the ratings go sky high in the next test.
Finally, it's September 12, 1966 when "The Monkees" TV show premieres on NBC and ends up beating "Gilligan's Island" to win the night. While on the set for the TV show, Don Kirshner tells them that "Last Train to Clarksville" was the #1 song in America as the five of them jump up and down in celebration. Later, Mike shows he was right about them not playing their own instruments, when he finds an article in the newspaper titled "Monkee or Phonies?" Just then, he comes up with the idea of playing a live concert to prove they could really play. After weeks of practice, their first concert takes place in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the band plays "I Wanna Be Free." Following the concert, at the celebration party, they get told their second album was already close to done without them having any say.
At a press conference, they got asked the question that quickly spread around the world... "Is it true you guys don't play any instruments?" "Well, now we just played live in Hawaii in front of three thousand people. If we're not playing our own instruments we're gonna be in a lot of trouble," Mike explains. The reporter then says "I heard you had a band backstage. And you guys just faked it like on the records." Before they were able to answer, Don Kirshner hurried up the conference so he could meet with the boys privately. There, he gives the guys checks for $250,000 & tells them their next single was already done, except for their vocals. As anyone would expect, Mike & Peter get upset that they are once again not getting a chance to play. Mike shouts, "No that's it! I am not putting my name on other people's music!" to Kirshner. "Well then, maybe you just want to give me that check back then. I mean, if you find it so distasteful," he replies. Mike then says, "Alright, this is it...ready? Either we play on those records & we have a say in what goes on, or I quit!" Harris interrupts, "Look kid, you made a deal with us & we'll tell you what to record! Take a look at your contract!" Mike then loses his temper, punches his fist through the wall and says, "Ya see that? That could've been your face," to Harris as he walks out, while Micky, Davy, & Peter follow. Soon after their meeting with Kirshner, the guys talk to Van. After they state their case, he takes their side on the subject and tells them they could play on the next record. But, it wouldn't be that easy.
After their tour of England, party with the Beatles, & Davy's visit with his dad, Van & Harris meet with Don Kirshner after they find out that even after they told him not to, he purposely released the single he wanted to release, which didn't include the guys playing. Kirshner's stubborness cost him his job. The guys then got the chance to go into the studio and record their first "group" album, "Headquarters." The record hit #1, but quickly lost its #1 spot to the Beatles latest album, "St. Peppers."
After the brief success of their third album, they find themselves at the 1967 Emmy awards. Against tough competition like "Gilligan's Island" & "Bewitched," the guys win in the category of "Outstanding Comedy." Later, they discover the talents Jimi Hendrix and get him to open for the Monkees 1967 US tour. But, he ends up leaving the tour after getting booed off the stage one too many times. One of the key parts of the film is when Peter is helping Davy during the recording sessions for "Daydream Believer." After Davy criticizes Peter's singing, Peter ends up slugging Davy right above his eye.
Over time, the guys get bored with the show and want to make the third season like an hour long variety show with guest stars. But, the idea gets rejected by NBC and Van brings in Jack Nicholson to give the guys an idea about trying to make a movie. The boys are very enthusiastic about doing a movie and start working on the project. On the set of their new movie, Harris tells them NBC has just cancelled "The Monkees" and that he was out of a job. After filming is over and the movie gets released, "Head" ends up bombing, leaving The Monkees with nothing left.
Later, they go to the same restaurant they went to when they first met, and Peter talks of quitting the group. "I don't even know what The Monkees are about anymore," he explains. A few minutes later, all four get together on the beach where the movie's "happy ending" comes along as they sing The Monkees theme song.
Review
This bio-drama of The Monkees gives a fairly detailed story of their beginnings and rise to fame, and the seeds of their eventual fall. In spite of a maybe too happy ending, the actors depicting The Monkees do a amazing job, reproducing most of their hit music videos (original recordings) with impressive accuracy. There are some surprise characters depicted such as Jack Nicholson, Jimmy Hendrix and The Beatles. Additionally, the participation on the DVD of three of the original Monkees, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones & Peter Tork, has added a lot of extra entertainment value to the DVD. They each do separate feature length commentaries plus separate video interviews, which (along with director Neill Fearnley's audio commentary) gives about 7 hours of additional insight into what really happened with The Monkees. It's both amusing and informative to view these extras. --- By: fausttiger from Los Angeles, CA @ Amazon.com
Cast Credits
George Stanchev - Davy Jones
L.B. Fisher - Peter Tork
Jeff Geddis - Mike Nesmith
Aaron Lohr - Micky Dolenz
Wallace Langham - Don Kirshner
Colin Ferguson - Van
Stephen Bogaert - Harris Green
Polly Shannon - Phyllis Nesmith
Jim Thorburn - Derek
Sarah LaFleur - Carla
Toby Procter - Auditioner #1
Balasz Kooks - Beatnik Friend
Jeff Smith - Auditioner #2
Joe Matheson - Drunk Businessman
Charlotte Leonard - Young Girlfriend #1
Karley Marek - T-Shirt Woman
Edward Glen - Producer
Jeff Ironi - Policeman #1
Christopher Crumb - John
Jason Knight - Paul
Colin Evans - George
Graham Harley - Davy's Dad
Katie Griffin - Award Presenter
Tim Hall - Cooler Kid
Larry Bain - Young Guy
Jennifer Foster - Mother
Connor Cunningham - Little Boy
Tony Springer - Jimi Hendrix
Robert Kennedy - Reporter
Ron Payne - Mr. Russel
Paul A. MacFarlane - Security Guard
Courtney Hawkrigg - Girl Fan
Amanda May - English Woman
Nicole Dicker - School Girl
Lillian Lewis - Socialite Woman
Kevin Hare - Important Executive
Dwayne McLean - Policeman #2 (Stunt)
Jamie Jones - Walter (Stunt)
Tom Farr - Davy (Stunt)
Crew Credits
Neill L. Fearnley - Director
Howard Braunstein - Executive Producer
Harold Bronson - Consultant/advisor
Rolf Harvey - Production Designer
Stephen Lawrence - Editor
David A. Makin - Cinematographer
Ron McGee - Screenwriter
Fred Mollin - Musical Direction/Supervision
Susan Murdoch - Producer
Marilyn Stonehouse - Executive Producer
Mary Partridge - Costume Designer
J-P Charbonneau- Construction Coordinator
Malcolm Glassford - Set Director
Kevin Pierson - Property Master
Catherine Ashton - Assistant Costume Designer
Dorothy Smith - Make Up
Karola Dirnberger - Hair Stylist
Andy Chmura - Camera Operator
Mike O'Connor - Key Grip
Kevin Alanthwalte - Gafter
Greg O'Hara - Transport Coordinator
Avi Federgreen - Location Manager
Elaine Yarish- Script Supervisor
Marie-Claude Harnois - Production Manager
Tom Hidderley - Production Sound Mixer
Marc Roussel - Assistant Picture Editor
Frank Biasi - Online Editor
Alison Reid - Stunt Coordinator
Joanne Jackson - Production Manager
Avrel Fisher - First Assistant Director
Ken A. Smith - Second Assistant Director
Eyes Post Group - Film/Video Post Facility
Multi-Track Digital Inc. - Sound Editing
Jim Hopkins - Sound Effects Editor
Catherine Hutton - Dialogue Editor
Ian Hopkins - A.D.R. Editor
Brian Nevin - Music Recordist
Jeff Wolpert - Music Editor & Mixer
David Appleby/Ellus Caruso/Mike Woronluk - Re-Recording Mixers
Re-Recorded at:
Deluxe Toronto
Toronto Casting By:
Jon Comerford, C.D.C
Los Angeles Casting By:
Shana Landsburg, C.S.A.
Included Monkees Music (Original Recordings):
All of Your Toys, Daydream Believer, I Wanna Be Free (Live '67), Last Train To Clarksville,
(Theme From) The Monkees, (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone (Live '67), I'm A Believer.
Filmed on Location in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The DVD
Released on 1/22/2002
Rated: PG-13 (For Drug Content)
91 minutes in Color
DVD Features
Play Movie
Chapter Selection
Preview Attractions
---Cheyenne Warrior
---A Cry in the Wild
---Avalanche Alley
Special Features
---Filmographies
---George Stanchev
---L. B. Fisher
---Jeff Geddis
---Aaron Lohr
---Wallace Langham
---Colin Ferguson
---Roger Corman
---Neill Fearnley
---Original Trailer
---Micky Dolenz Video Interview
---Davy Jones Video Interview
---Peter Tork Video Interview
Audio Commentaries
---Film Without Commentary
---Director's Commentary
---Davy Jones Commentary
---Micky Dolenz Commentary
---Peter Tork Commentary
---Closed Captioning Information
Purchase "Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story" on DVD or VHS
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