1988s Tapeheads tried just a little too hard to be the next big cult sensation.
Cult movies have been with us for a very long time.
As a cultural phenomenon, they really began to emerge on college campuses in the mid-60s.
Most of them had been released initially with a solidly mainstream audience in mind.
Then a funny thing happened.
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Im not sure what it was.
Or maybe it was just another cynical corporate effort to co-opt a potentially profitable grassroots scene.
Most also involved some kind of alien creatures.
Ignoring the straight to video market, the era of the pre-packaged cult film was about over by 1987.
The script, as, mentioned above, had all the necessary elements to guarantee midnight movie supremacy.
Thats hip and subversive, right?
The real kicker, though, was the supporting cast, which had an unbeatable cult film pedigree.
Even Courtney Love (whod had a cameo inSid and Nancy) had a cameo.
Barely a scene goes by without some notable cameo from across the musical spectrum.
Even musicians whodontappear in the film, like Bo Diddley, recorded new songs for the soundtrack.
So far, so good, with that cult hit status looking more certain all the time.
The plot centers around two childhood pals now in their early twenties (Cusack and Robbins).
Heres the problem, though.
Structurally and aesthetically they were completely divorced from anything being produced by mainstream Hollywood.
I left the theater thinking, Man, they were trying WAY too hard.
It was all but completely forgotten for almost two decades.
Then, yes, a funny thing happened.
It failed miserably then because we saw through the scam and the bullshit and the cheap disguise.
