Yes, this is that movie written by Roger Ebert. It’s that infamous grindhouse flick that explains in the opening that it’s not a sequel to “Valley of the Dolls” but a spin off in name only that doesn’t continue the original storyline. It’s lucky for me, since I don’t have to catch up with the first movie to review this one. “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” is the exact type of sixties beatnik surrealism that I get off on, and watching Russ Meyer’s ultra hip music thriller made me glad I finally sat down to watch a movie I’d proactively avoided all these years. After watching “Beyond The Valley…” I came away with one nagging thought: People often complain about the rise of quick cuts in modern film and peg it on MTV, but if you ever manage to dig this one up, you’ll see that Russ Meyer is the master of the quick cut. There’s a fast edit every second cutting from face, to face, to face, to the point where I was insanely dizzy and had to pause it momentarily. During conversations between characters it get awfully ridiculous, as the editor seems to go off the rails and cut every single second. But in truth, Meyers only keeps to his theme of psychadelica with a tone and mood that feels like an acid trip from the very beginning and doesn’t let up until Meyer feels it should.

“Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” doesn’t take itself as seriously as Meyer’s past films and that’s due to Ebert’s screenplay that’s a bit confused on what it’s trying to tackle in terms of the elite hipster crowd quick to experiment with drugs and sex. Does Ebert demonize this class of partiers that ruled the sixties, or is he praising them? One can only tell, as Ebert later went on to explain that he and Meyer had no idea what the actual counter culture was like, and instead of just winged it and presented their interpretation. It’s not a far stretch as “Beyond the Valley…” often comes off as a caricature of what that decade strived for, but then again it’s perfectly in fitting with Meyer’s usual style of storytelling. Meyer always admitted that his movies were mere fantasies and cartoons, take Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill!, for example. “Beyond the Valley” is often very goofy to sit through, as we’re forced to endure weird musical interludes, and wild scenes of random sex and boobage with Ebert only getting into the actual plot on occasion. “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” is a soapy, melodramatic acid trip with some tight screenplay work from Ebert who turns this Meyers installment into a unique affair. It mostly lives up to the hype… especially with the tranny killing spree that ensues in the climax.

Though confused in its intentions and overall message, “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” is a funky, wonky, and entertaining jolt into the decade that bred free loving, hipster rockers, and hippies all through the eyes of the man who adored large breasts and occasionally the women who wore them.