20th Century Fox obviously did not know what they were getting into when they snapped up nudie-filmmaking legend Russ Meyer to co-write and direct Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the 1970 T&A fest that was supposed to be a spiritual sequel to their hit 1967 adaptation of Jacqueline Susann’s trashy bestseller Valley of the Dolls. Meyer and a young film critic named Roger Ebert came up with this bosomy, batshit reimagining, wherein a trio of young female rock ’n’ rollers (including Playboy playmates Dolly Read and Cynthia Myers) get swallowed up by Hollywood’s hella-hedonistic scene, with its sex, drugs and Strawberry Alarm Clock tunes. This satirical psychedelic freakout — complete with rampant nudity, delirious editing and a chaotic, violent third act inspired by the Charles Manson murders — practically outdoes the original Valley in the outrageousness department. Tonally madcap, visually relentless and horny as fuck, Beyond — perhaps the most hold-my-beer movie ever made — truly went beyond. And that’s why the Belcourt has given it a Midnight Movies slot this weekend.
Midnight at the Belcourt
2102 Belcourt Ave.
