by Moe Zilla

Created on: February 14, 2008   Last Updated: February 16, 2008

"The Monkees" was a TV show, about a band called "The Monkees," which released albums under the name of "The Monkees." But trapped in the middle were four young actors. Their own strange story is captured in an entertaining biopic called "Daydream Believers - The Monkees Story."

The movie opens when the future singers are still four unknowns, and it first follows the young hopefuls into their audition interviews. A young Mickey Dolenz is exasperated when the TV executives decide to test his personality by ignoring him and building a house of cards. Mickey proves his zany sense of humor by knocking their pile over, then announcing impishly: "Check mate!" The movie delivers the fun story of their overnight success, both on TV and in the music industry.

But it also taps details from the actors own lives, creating a realism that's even more engaging, and sometimes even dramatic. In real life the four actors didn't know each other, and their first meeting is filled with genuine tension. Davy Jones inadvertently insults Michael Nesmith with a comment about Texas, but the group begins bonding over a cheeseburger dinner. Soon these tensions have real consequences, since Michael wants the band to start playing their own instruments. How much credibility will the Monkees have as musicians? That's ultimately up to the four young men.

It's the one true triumph of the band, and the movie gives it a fair recreation.
"You made a deal with us, and we'll tell you what to record," one executive tells Michael. "Take a look at your contract." Davy rejects Michaels fierce insistence that they practice on instruments after a hard day of filming the TV series - but Michael delivers an apologetic speech the next day which brings them all back together. This leads to the greatest moment in the band's history - when they perform live at a concert in Hawaii.

Sadly, this moment was largely overlooked until Rhino Records released a recording in 1990 - but the film's screenplay ultimately finds its way to all the highlights of their career. There's the time Jimi Hendrix opened for their 1968 tour - and was booed by teenaged fans who only wanted to hear the Monkees. There's the time they met the Beatles, and their involvement with a young film entrepreneur named Jack Nicholson. Davy is shown confiding to his father about the isolating effects of overnight success - and in one amazing scene, Peter even punches Davy in the nose.

The movie's closing credits resurrect a lost Monkees rarity which beautifully captures the movie's essential conflict. In it Mickey wails that he feels "Just Like One Of Your Toys." The band's members face a lot of problems, but soon realize that it's all over too soon. Visiting a sick fan in the hospital, Davy realizes there's an upside to his fame. Though the Monkees started out as pawns of the music industry, the band's members struggled to re-direct the band into something they could call their own.

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