Last post in January?! Well, I would hate for Blogger to assume this is an abandoned blog and delete it. And although posting here feels disturbingly like talking to myself, I'm going to put some stuff up here that has appeared, in different form and less rambly, on Blogcritics.A couple of my favorite movies are American Grafitti and That Thing You Do. Both deal with a period for which I have what is likely an unhealthy level of longing. Both are about rock and roll and youth culture at a time when it was becoming a force for the grownups to reckon with. Now I have seen a film that belongs on my dream triple-bill with them, My Dinner With Jimi.Among the fortunate few who saw director Bill Fishman’s My Dinner With Jimi on the big screen, at a film festival or in its limited theatrical release, this DVD has been eagerly anticipated. For the rest of us, who had only read praise for the film, the wait for this award-winning, low-budget quickie (shot in 12 days) has been agonizing. Now the DVD is here, and guess what? Entirely worth the agony. My Dinner With Jimi is a factual account of a brief period in 1967 when the Turtles made the transition from opening act to stardom, however short-lived, with the number one hit, “Happy Together.” The first half of the film depicts the band’s struggle to achieve greater success than their modest hits to date, and to avoid the military draft. Their place in the L.A. rock and roll pantheon of the day is pointedly made when they are worthy of a 16 Magazine photo shoot, but get bumped from the cover in favor of the Monkees. The film’s second half plays out the Turtles’ first night in England, culminating in the title event, Kaylan’s early morning dining, drinking, and rap session with guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who was a personality on the hip London scene, but yet (prior to his first album’s release) unknown to America.
Unlike most Sixties rock and roll films, this one has the advantage of being told by the story’s central figure, Turtles’ singer Howard Kaylan, who wrote the screenplay and fully acknowledges the possibility of memory lapses, and the likely causes. The casual attitude about drug and alcohol abuse adds to the film’s feel of authenticity, and it’s to Kaylan’s credit that he didn’t attempt to downplay it. In fact, extreme drug and alcohol intake figure prominently into his and Mark Vollman’s draft aversion tactics, which also felt quite authentic, although that lengthy sequence bogs down an otherwise snappy 90 minutes.
My Dinner captures the brief, breathless time when the scenario played out in That Thing You Do (a film that shares the same buoyant, delirious prevailing mood)—of a bunch of kids putting together a neighborhood band, making a record, and having a number one hit—was not only feasible, it was happening all over the world. The immensely likable Turtles’ wide-eyed, star-struck naivety adds to the realism of the pivotal scenes in London’s exclusive Speakeasy Club. One of the film’s greatest strengths is in these scenes that show us the human dimensions of larger-than-life cultural figures like Hendrix, Brian Jones, and The Beatles.
With few exceptions (such as “Graham Nash’s” dodgy accent and some of the worst wigs and beards this side of my high school’s production of Gone With the Wind), the cast pulls off the difficult task of celebrity impersonation, compensating for marginal resemblance with spot-on voices and mannerisms. The most impressive is Royal Watkins as Jimi Hendrix, who convincingly plays the coolest cat in the place, even in the presence of John Lennon and Brian Jones. Even if Hendrix never suggested that Kaylan perform “all done up like John Steed of The Avengers,”*** Watkins is utterly convincing giving this advice. The film’s best line, and its best-delivered, may be when Hendrix tries to talk Kaylan out of getting married, saying, “Don’t do it. This is hit record time.”
While scenes like the one in Cantor’s Deli, featuring Jim Morrison and a pickle, stretch credulity, they are so charming and funny, you won’t care about the “higher degree of accuracy” that producer Harold Bronson claims this film has over most films “based on actual events.” Accurate or not, My Dinner With Jimi captures the look and feel of the Sixties at their swinging-est. It’s a gas!
Turtles completists, take note, the film includes a couple of mixes Bronson did just for it, "Outside Chance" (by Warren Zevon, who Kaylan speaks about on the commentary track) with the lead vocal higher in the mix, and "She'd Rather Be With Me" (at the end, in the Speakeasy club), minus the horns, for a more "live" sound.
Extras include Howard Kaylan’s commentary, with Harold Bronson; their anecdotes add considerably to the story. Among other contentious comments, Kaylan repeats the claim that, unlike the Beach Boys and most every other L.A.-area band, The Turtles never used studio musicians (like Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew), but played all the instruments on their records, presumably not including horns and strings. He's a little rough on Jim Tucker, who left the band in 1967, and he does some other interesting name-dropping. It truly enhances the film.
It would be wonderful to see more films like this, which attempt to depict actual events from rock and roll's golden era, realistically and with human dimensions. My Dinner With Jimi -- it's a treat.
*** Strangely, Kaylan and Bronson talk on the commentary track about the lengths they went to with the Smothers Brothers' "Happy Together" recreation, getting the set and costumes just as they were in the original. After finding the clip on YouTube, however, I found that the recreation is amazingly accurate . . . except for Kaylan. In the actual clip, he seems to be taking Hendrix' advice as to dressing like John Steed (albeit with top hat and cane, rather than derby and brolly); in the film, he's hat- and cane-less and wearing a grossly ill-fitting suit! Which I thought must've been true to the original until I saw it. Also strangely, in the Speakeasy club footage at the end, where the Turtles perform "She'd Rather Be With Me," Kaylan is wearing the John Steed look!
No matter . . . it's a great film, and after a dozen attempts, I think I've determined what "Paul" and "John" say to each other in that last scene. Something like:
Paul: This would make a great story. Wonder if someone will write it someday.
John: Yeah, it's great.
Paul: You better hope not. You come off as a prick.
There's no way Kaylan, performing onstage, could have heard that conversation if it took place, but (like Morrison and the pickle) it's funny enough, and in keeping with the film's tone, who cares.
Travis, you may consider my comparison of Pete's and Ringo's albums to be ridiculous--that's certainly your right. Rude? Sorry, I don't see anything rude about comparing the two; comparing two artists is a legitimate critical practice, especially when the two have held the same place in a band.
I did find the dismissive AMG review (as quoted) of Pete's album to be rude. And I was personally offended by what struck me as Ringo's insensitive lyrics and his treatment of his fans this year.
I appreciate your comment, however, and would respectfully suggest that our notions of what constitutes good manners and rudeness are very different.
Ok, so long as I've gone down this road (and since I cannot imagine anyone reads this, even
the scum who post spam comments), I'll include a comment from someone who thinks I might
not be so rude and ignorant, after all:
thanks mr gardner for specifically calling out the insults inherent in Mark Deming's AMG review. MD would have benefitted from the same blind taste test that you experienced; instead, he approached Haymans Green with a hearty bias that became blatantly obvious after his review had actually started off on a positve note. HG surprised me, with every track- whether a rocker or a ballad- quite enjoyable. The auto/biographical theme of the album makes it even more interesting to listen closely to the lyrics to learn what parts of beatles history and/or personal history are being described. Seriously, I'd if you have the CD, do a similar blind taste test with someone you know, and see their reaction AFTER you tell them who it is.
Very cool review Mr Gardner. Ya hit the nail on the head.