Saw Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a film that was supposed to be a sequel to The Valley of the Dolls (1967) (which I have not seen) however the production apparently lost the rights to The Valley of the Dolls or something and now this film (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) opens with a text blurb explaining that this is specifically not a sequel to The Valley of the Dolls and the fact that the characters are all the same is a complete coincidence!! What a mess.
The background story to this film nicely tees up what a confusing, ramshackle adventure this film is. It follows a trio of girls in a rock band and their manager, the lead singer's boyfriend, as they travel to Los Angeles to try to make it in Hollywood. They are instantly swept up into a milieu of lawyers, pornographers, homosexuals, and druggies. They ping-pong around in brightly-lit and overly decorated apartments, sleeping with each other, smoking weed, and shouting "Far out!" at the drop of a hat. The film is shot like an inconsequential sex comedy. But then the ending happens.
The ending of the film elevates this from being a merely forgettable piece of bad art into a stupendous, baffling, monument of bad art! It changes from being a somewhat raunchy take on Josie and the Pussy Cats to something out of the depths of Gallo Cinema, like Dario Argento took over the film for a few reels. It's just bananas! The ending is such a radical gear-shift that the opening credits open on it. It's the hook that'll keep you watching. Just nuts! And the script was written by Roger Ebert!
Apparently on release this film was panned. It was clearly ahead of its time. It walked so that other self-aware camp, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show could run. This is not a film full of poignant drama or deep thoughts. This is a film where British accents appear and disappear, where parties are hosted by loquacious bisexuals, where old women in fright-wigs say things like "I'd sure like to strap you on!" to the pretty-boy protagonist. It's mad and strange and stupid and great. I enjoyed it, and I wish I had been drunk or high with friends when I saw it.
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