bortels In the 80's, back when MTV actually played videos, I spent plenty of time with it on in the background, the way radio was in earlier decades. Tapeheads captures that in spades - the glitzy, superficial, just plain stupid, yet weirdly captivating 80's music video scene, from behind. With spoof videos like King Cotton in the "Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle Commercial", and Devo backing Cube-Squared's video ("The hottest thing from Sweden since Abba") in mock-Swedish, and some stunningly good performances by "The Swanky Modes" (Sam Moore and Junior Walker), it sticks in your head. This is no "The Shawshank Redemption" or "Grosse Point Blank" - If you're seeing it for Tim Robbins and John Cusack - this is late-80s throwaway kitsch, and it shows - and there's nothing wrong with that. If you think more "Better off Dead" or "Cadillac Man", you're in the right ballpark. Frankly, it's refreshing to see them in something early in their careers, having some fun. If you enjoyed your videos in the 80's, it's worth checking out.

jinx5000 ...oh, yeah, most people are braying morons who wouldn't know a whip tight 80's comedy if it came out on DVD 15 years later with jokes that could still bite a chunk out of Adam Sandler's/Ben Stiller's/even Will Ferrell's ass. I saw this in the theater when it came out and couldn't fathom how the rest of the country wasn't chanting "Let's get into trouble, baby!" Then I remembered the country's median IQ and dismal reading levels and it was clear that this flick just moved too quickly for cinema dwellers who were looking for something a little less challenging than "Mannequin". "Teach me to read." "Sign my butt." "Don't bulls--- me! I'm a big cello fan! Casales died years ago!" "Josh is a visual visionary he communicates in images not antiquated verbosity, maybe that's why he's been so hard to understand recently." RENT-A-FACADE. "The Blender Children are mulch!" "Waffles' just pancakes with little squares on 'em." Not to mention the fact that the whole shebang is a slap in the face to Mtv produced by the creator of the network, Mike Nesmith. If that ain't subversive enough for you then go rank "Mannequin 2: On the Move" a ten and leave the real comedy to those that get it.

tedg Spoilers herein.Films like this take a chance of being just too dumb and silly. This one works for me, but it likely will not for you.The thing that makes it work for me is to constantly be aware of the context. A producer is a Monkee. A writer the guy who did `Charlie's Angels.' The sex interest Bing Crosby's daughter! Cusak and Robbins just plain acting as goofy as they can.Ordinarily, this excess just turns me off as in say `me Myself and Irene' or `Reservoir Dogs.' But this a goofy film about two guys who do what? Make goofy films. And the values they have in the film are the values of the film. I love this stuff.

GregRG Tapeheads is not a subtle film. It is not brilliant film. What it is is one of the most unique and funny American comedies in a long time. What allows this movie to rise above the stupidity in which it revels in is two-fold. Its quirky sense of humor is so unique and refreshing, that you're not only willing but looking forward to the plot which can politely described as asinine. Secondly, it has the Swankey Modes, who are actually soul legends Sam Moore and Junior Walker. They bring a delightful energy and great music to the movie.It would be pointless to bring up specific scenes, except to say that this movie has approximately ten or fifteen of the funniest vignettes of the year. There are also plenty of misses, but the joy in seeing them make the effort allows you to forgive all the misses.John Cusack and Tim Robbins, both exceptional actors capable of great subtlety, exhibit none of it here. What they replace it with is a great comic energy and a willingness to do almost anything for a joke. Cusack is especially endearing as a total sleazeball who will do anything for a buck. Michael Nesmith (yes, That one!) produces this farce and demonstrates what we already knew- He was really the talented one, and the funniest one.I imagine that there will be people who hate this movie. People who hate its lack of subtlety, who hate the implausible plot, and who just don't get a humor that most can most aptly described as off kilter. What they don't understand is that the humor in this movie is a complete original, and the lengths this movie takes to see it through are admirable and at times breathtaking. And it is for those reasons that Tapeheads is one of the great American comedies of the 1980's, and one of the most underrated movies ever made.