Tuesday, March 30, 2021

200 Motels (1971)

As crazy as you imagine a Frank Zappa long-feature would be. This isn't really a film as such, more like a very long music video of Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention interspersed with various strange vignettes including Keith Moon as a hot Nun, Donald Duck on drugs and Ringo Starr playing... Frank Zappa!

Nothing makes sense of course, it is a freeform kaleidoscope of music and art. The music can be very good, everything else can sometimes be a bit more miss than hit but certainly worth seeing (maybe just the once). Frank Zappa said he wanted to show how touring could make you crazy. He certainly succeeded. 

The film is a little too self-indulgent if we are to be honest. A film of it's time, which can be a good and a bad thing.