Tapeheads (1988) (1988)

July 15, 2024 6:31 AM

A couple of creative losers accidently become big shots in the video music industry.

A very silly movie starring Tim Robbins and John Cusack, along with Don Cornelius, Sam Moore, Junior Walker, and Mike Naismith as Skip. Includes a stealth Bob Roberts reference in its music credits, four years before that movie came out.

posted by adamrice (12 comments total)

JustWatch link
posted by adamrice at 6:34 AM on July 15, 2024

Even as someone who, at the time, was predisposed to like just about anything John Cusack did, the best thing that I can say about this movie is that it looked like it was fun to make.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:31 AM on July 15, 2024 [2 favorites]

I haven't seen this in years, but I remember liking it a whole lot in the '90s. I was stunned when I got to LA and discovered that Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles was a real chain! And I can still sing that song.
posted by rednikki at 12:27 PM on July 15, 2024 [2 favorites]

Swanky Modes!!!
posted by jkosmicki at 1:20 PM on July 15, 2024 [3 favorites]

ZYXWVTSRQPNMLKJHGFDCB!

Cameo by Courtney Love!

(I love this movie... had the big poster from the video store and everything...)
posted by armacy at 6:57 PM on July 15, 2024 [2 favorites]

I have a great affection for this weird little film. Devo's turn as a Kraftwerk parody was delightful and They Might Be Giants make an early appearance on the soundtrack as well.
posted by subocoyne at 9:49 AM on July 16, 2024 [1 favorite]

I loved this weird little movie.
posted by suelac at 10:17 PM on July 16, 2024 [1 favorite]

Jello Biafra as an FBI agent saying, "Remember what we did to Jello Biafra?" while arresting our heroes is alone worth the price of admission.
posted by dirtdirt at 6:18 AM on July 17, 2024 [2 favorites]

I wrote about this after its producer Mike Nesmith died. I liked it a lot, but seeing it in the context of Mike Nesmith's career, this had more in common with the Monkees' career than The New Monkees did.
posted by pxe2000 at 6:16 AM on July 18, 2024 [2 favorites]

Thanks for that, pxe2000. I always thought there was a line connecting Elephant Parts to Tapeheads myself.
posted by adamrice at 8:01 AM on July 18, 2024 [1 favorite]

Don Cornelius saying "let's get into trouble, baby" was my computer error beep for a long time back then.
posted by chazlarson at 7:30 PM on July 19, 2024 [4 favorites]

Ooooooohhhhh, my college roommate Matt and I loved this film unreasonably and irrationally. I can still do the BADD sobriety test, I think, and I remember a lot of the dialogue.

Some of it was questionable then (and is clearly problematic now), but it's utterly zany, brilliant stuff.

Plus it has Fishbone!!
posted by wenestvedt at 2:14 PM on July 20, 2024 [1 favorite]