The Monkees Mike Nesmith Joked ‘Head’ Was Once So Edgy,’ and Now It’s ‘Mainstream’
With fondness, Mike Nesmith looked back on The Monkees‘ first and only feature film Head. While not a critical success, the film was a break from a formula that propelled the band to the highest levels of superstardom. Many years later, Nesmith joked that the film was “once so edgy” and had become a more “mainstream” cinematic event.
How did The Monkees get involved with ‘Head’?
The last episode of The Monkees Emmy-winning television show aired in March 1968, during its second and final filming season. During that time, the world’s cultural climate appeared to be in upheaval, and the series seemed out of step with the times.
The Monkees producer and director Bob Rafelson had planned to make a film starring Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Nesmith. However, it wasn’t plausible until The Monkees officially ended.
Rafelson introduced the actors to aspiring screenwriter and actor Jack Nicholson. During one weekend spent at a California resort, Rafelson, Nicholson, and the cast of The Monkees had an open dialogue about the topics they wanted to address while a tape recorder kept running. These ideas would eventually come together into the germ of an idea for Head‘s script.
Mike Nesmith said the film was ‘once so edgy’ and it became ‘mainstream’
In a 1991 interview with Goldmine Magazine, Nesmith spoke fondly of the film, which he joked was “once so edgy” and had since become “mainstream.”
“I think [Head] is a strong piece of cinema,” he stated. “It’s interesting to see how soft it was now when it was so edgy and over the side when it came out. Now it almost looks mainstream.”
He continued, “I think people had as much trouble accepting a psychedelic movie from The Monkees as they did the music of The Monkees. It was like, how can you extend the television franchise to include all those things? And the answer was you can.”
In the same interview, Nesmith discussed how he believed the appeal of The Monkees was “timeless.”
“Of all the things that do surprise me, that surprises me the least,” he explained. “Those were good shows. They were fairly broad-based and pretty entertaining. Those four kids were winsome and attractive; I can see the appeal. Those were Class-A records and good pop music. It’s too bad everything was so poorly managed because it could have been much more fun than it was.”
‘Head’ developed a cult following among film fans
The film featured a who’s who of celebrities, including Terri Garr, Victor Mature, Annette Funicello, Sonny Liston, Frank Zappa, Toni Basil, and Dennis Hopper, to name a few. Since its release, Head has attained cult status among film fans.
The film was a vignette of different storylines featuring Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith, and Tork. It was a homage to classic movies and an anti-war cry simultaneously.
Head also featured concert footage of the band singing a live version of the Nesmith tune “Circle Sky.” Vietnam War footage was intercut alongside concert snippets, and the video featured several mirrored band shots.
