User Reviews

"Monkees at the Movies" remains one of the brightest episodes of them all, with the unexpected bonus of future teen idol Bobby Sherman doing a devastating putdown of the diva-like attitude of former teen heartthrob Frankie Avalon. For better or worse, anyone who saw Avalon's desperate jabs at The Beatles in 1964's "Bikini Beach" (as the horrendously-accented British pop star The Potato Bug) can see the germ of such an ego already forming, with the incredibly handsome Sherman playing the unsubtly-named 'Frankie Catalina,' whose latest beach flick features The Monkees as extras, their antics eventually driving him off the picture. Does Frankie sing: "no we dub in his voice" Does he score with the chicks: "no, girls make him break out in a rash, actually" Can he surf: "no, he's afraid of the water!" What makes him so popular: "are you kidding, he's the perfect teenager!" Once the star has stormed off, The Monkees try to get the producer (Jerry Lester) to replace him with Davy, who quickly develops the same giant ego that ruined his predecessor (the 1965 David JONES Colpix LP makes a cameo). Bobby sounds good singing Brian Wilson's "New Girl in School," while this provided the only appearance for "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You," a Neil Diamond composition recorded Jan 21 1967, at Jeff Barry's final session as Monkees producer, effectively ending Don Kirshner's involvement (there's also another reprise of Boyce and Hart's "Last Train to Clarksville"). "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You" was issued as The Monkees' third single Mar 8 1967, backed with "The Girl I Knew Somewhere." Kirshner's fatal mistake was putting a non Monkees-sponsored track on the flip, a fairly lifeless rendition of Jeff Barry's "She Hangs Out," which received a far grittier treatment by the band on their fourth LP, PISCES AQUARIUS CAPRICORN & JONES LTD (disproving Kirshner's egotistical assertion that the four deserved no credit for their own success). Although the first season's final scripted entry to be broadcast (no. 31- Apr 17 1967), "Monkees at the Movies" was actually completed months earlier, 12th in production (Aug 22-26 1966).