Pretty Good

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

My mom was a big Monkees fan back in the 60's and Mike Nesmith was her favorite. We had the VHS copy since the early 80's, even though neither my mom, dad or anyone else knows how they got it. Anyway, the comedy skits are funny and the music videos are time capsules. Four of the videos (Magic, Crusin' (also known as 'Lucy and Romona and their brother Sunset Sam'), Light and Tonite are from Nesmith's 1980 album 'Infinte Rider on the Big Dogma' and Rio was from 'From a Radio Engine to a Photon Wing' in 1976. Rio was on of the first commercial music videos released. The DVD features a running skit not featured on the VHS release (at least MY VHS) and a hilarious and baffling commentary by Nez himself.

Using as the title a line from an obscure Indian poem, Michael Nesmith branched out for this 1981 video entry as he explains in his wittily overblown introduction pontificating about rising gasoline prices. This follows his Godzill-esquire spoof of his 1970 country classic Joanne, an introduction that sets the tone for the special, a compendium of unrelated comedic shorts and five music video segments involving four songs from Nesmith's 1979 rock album "Infinite Rider On The Big Dogma" (the source of one of the video's cleverest bits) and the song "Rio" from "From A Radio Engine To The Photon Wing," a song that is the uncredited inspiration for a mid-2000-decade rash of country party songs themed around Latin American beaches.The comedic shorts run the gamut from brilliant to brilliant misfires; there are several drug-themed bits that fall into the misfire category, while several other skits stand out - the Infinite Rider bit, Neighborhood Nuclear Superiority, learning to fly (which resembles the airport gag from The Monkees episode "Success Story" involving Mike, Micky, and Peter), and the smartest bit of the entire special, Rock & Roll Hospital, as a doctor deals with patients exhibiting fits themed around rock music, such as Mike rampaging through the halls playing air guitar as a victim of Elvis disease, and the man who can only speak via 1950s-era babblingly rhythmic background vocals.Of the five video segments, the smartest video may be for the song "Cruisin'," cleverly inserting and crosscutting Mike amid the scene in LA, while "Rio" and "Magic" have proved a source for video images for such artists as Shania Twain for "Man! I Feel LIke A Woman!" A decidedly mixed package, Elephant Parts nonetheless has enough to warrant ownership, and further displays the multifaceted quality of Michael Nesmith.

the first person who commented on this apparently doesn't have much of a sense of humor. This is a collection of hilarious off beat comedy skits (it's not a "movie") and if you have any sense of humor at all you will find something funny in this. and another thing, how could Hulk Hogan make it work? And bring integrity? All he does is walk around in a speedo, he didnt write the skit, he's just acting. thank you.

If you appreciate the many talents of Michael Nesmith, this is a must see! The new DVD has it all, music, comedy, dancing and even newly added commentary by Mr. Nesmith, on the making of the film. "Light", one of the five music videos, is beautiful. I loved the way it was filmed. If you want to laugh, "Marnin Grita", "Bitty Soda" or "Name that Drug" should do the trick!! This was 60 minutes of complete entertainment. If you like good music or have a sense of humor, this is for you!