Highly Overrated But Still Good

good back-story, and good acting

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

As a long time Zappa fan, this movie has been on my to-watch list for decades, and I finally got around to watching it (thank you, Netflix). If you like Zappa, you need to watch this movie. If you're not a Zappa fan, this will not change that. What can I say? If I had seen it 40 years ago, I probably would have said it was the greatest movie I'd ever seen. Partly because the effects would have been more impressive back then, but mostly because I was a teenager. It doesn't have much of a plot as such. It loosely follows the exploits of a fictionalized version of the Mothers (several of the musician/actors had already been fired from the band when the movie was made). It's basically a running commentary on the music industry. That's a common theme for Frank, and he did it much better years later with the Joe's Garage series. It was recorded on videotape, and they threw ever special effects trick in the book at it that was available at the time. Given Frank's strong anti-drug stand, it's a bit ironic how often I found myself thinking "Wow, I really wish I were high for this". Particular highlights:Flo and Eddie! They clearly loved being in this movie and making music with Zappa, and it showed on their faces in every scene they were in.The London Symphony. They were at the opposite end of the spectrum. They played what was written (including the occasional barks and other noises) with stoic precision, but the looks on their faces said "I just hope the check clears".The perennially good sport Theodore Bikel. I mean seriously, who doesn't love him?In the end, I think what bothered my most about the movie was the extreme cynicism of it. Zappa was an incredibly talented guy, but he was clearly nervous about "putting himself out there", so he tended to to everything with a wink. He could have tried to make a "good" movie, but instead he made something overtly absurd, so if people didn't like it he could say "You weren't supposed to; I was being *ironic*".

After years of reading about this movie, I finally saw 200 Motels on Netflix Streaming. Conceived by Frank Zappa, this is perhaps one of the baddest trips I've taken watching weird movies from the late '60s/early '70s. I mean, Zappa only appears during the musical numbers which happen to be the best parts of this film. There's also Ringo Starr playing an actor playing Zappa, Keith Moon as the "hot nun", and Theodore Bikel as the devil. Oh, and Flo and Eddie, formerly of The Turtles, are among the members of Frank's Mothers of Invention and they get the deserved most screen time of the group. The people I mentioned have their charms (well, maybe not Moon whose characterization I really don't understand) but the whole thing is just soooo incomprehensible to the point that I kept pausing the film to see how much time was left. But it's really worth seeing at least once if you want to get it out of your system. So on that note, 200 Motels gets a fair warning from me of what you should expect if you dare...

200 Motels (1971) *** (out of 4) If you've heard any of Frank Zappa's music then you should know what to expect in this semi-documentary and that's originality and strangeness. The film follows Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention on a tour but don't expect your typical Don't Look Back type of scenery. Instead we get all sorts of short stories including an animated sequence with an acid taking Donald Duck wannabe, two groupies and Ringo Starr playing both Zappa and a dwarf. This film also has the distinction of being shot on videotape, which allowed Zappa to finish the movie in ten days. It's really hard to recommend this film to anyone because I'm sure most won't know what to make of it and in fact as a Zappa fan I wasn't sure what to make of it but that there is what makes the film work. Another movie like this can't pop up in my mind and for my money that originality is what makes this film special. Zappa himself is scene throughout the movie but never heard. That's an odd thing to do but what's even odder is having Ringo play Zappa and it's shocking how close they look to one another. Keith Moon shows up as a "sexy nun" so that there should tell you how nuts this film is. If you're looking for an actual documentary on Zappa or his tour then you're going to be out of luck here but if you want pure strange images then give this a try. There's plenty of music throughout the film as well, which is another big bonus.

Subtracting the obvious musical superiority Zappa has over the Monkeys, I think that the film "Head" is a better representation of the psychedelic era than "200 Motels". Maybe it's due to the fact that "200 Motels" is less of a total experience than "Head". It's essentially some nice, but barely connected videos, a few good gags and a few too many lame skits thrown in between. It doesn't seem to work as a feature length production. Personally, I'd like to see it re-edited for brevity and greater impact. It has potential.By the way, does the dry but off-kilter humor remind any of you of Beck's series of videos for "The Information"?