Review by Crites | Custom Flix
"All persons and events depicted herein are real. Any similarity to fictitious persons or events is purely coincidental."
A Hollywood documentary of sorts that fancies itself part of the tradition of the Italian mondo films, MONDO HOLLYWOOD roves through a number of the myriad scenes and settings of Tinseltown, encountering more than a few oddball individuals along the way.
Through Robert Carl Cohen's lens we visit social, political and metaphysical gatherings alike, passing through the Hollywood Palladium for a christian anti-communist crusade, Grauman's Chinese Theater, a Malibu Beach surf contest, Universal Studios, the aftermath of the Watts Riots, Schwab's Pharmacy, a Topanga Canyon gathering of hippies listening to a discourse by psychedelic pioneer Richard Alpert (later known as Baba Ram Dass), a UCLA peace rally, a California Cultural Club tea party, the Hollywood Park Memorial Cemetary, protests of the war in Vietnam, a rather disturbing children's fashion show, Ronald Reagan's astrologist-inspired midnight gubernatorial inauguration, various nightclubs and nudie joints (with token ‘psychedelic' effects) and the like, with many a shot of the L.A. basin and all of its associated suburbs and roadways included to emphasize the vast sprawl of the county.
Along the way we meet hippies such as Jenny Lee ("The Bazoom Girl") and vegetarian ‘wildman' Gypsy Boots, wealthy nature lover and actress Margaretta Ramsey, housekeeper and philanthropist Estella Scott, rich eccentric young aristocrat Lewis Beach Marvin III (along with his monkey Mr. President and his delusions of artistry), surf film producer Dale Davis, champion skydiver Jim Arender, beautician Sheryl Carson, musician Bobby Jameson, burlesque dancer Hope Chest, magician Carazini the Great, actor and "boy genius" Theodore Charach, Peanuts the transvestite, creepy rich broad Mary Ewalt Guggenheim and "former B-movie actress" and "American artist" Valerie Porter ("Everything bores me to death. The only thing I find interesting is myself.") among other notable forgettables.
Filmed from 1965 through 1967, MONDO HOLLYWOOD has here been re-edited and digitally enhanced for a two-hour 2005 re-release. Much is made of this as a ‘controversial cult classic,' but it's very difficult to see why. (Even in light of the multiple references to LSD.) The film claims to offer "close-ups" of Hollywood luminaries, but by this the filmmakers apparently just mean close-up shots – from the gaggle of other press cameramen catching the very same. No exclusive interviews, no rare insights, just a cavalcade of stars parading through various celebrity events; essentially what you'd get from the cover of any of the lower tabloids.
In keeping with the above spirit of misrepresentation, although the name of Manson is invoked twice on the DVD casing, Charles Manson is nowhere to be seen in this ‘documentary.' There's a brief visit to Manson Family victim Jay Sebring's toupee salon and a shot of a young Bobby Beausoleil cavorting around for some artist's model (the self-styled Pan), and that's about it. Which is typical of the entire production, linking itself to sensationalistic entities, themes and events without providing any inside knowledge whatsoever.
The only people profiled in-depth are garden variety SoCal nobodies – the pretentiously wealthy, the artistically pretentious, and your plain old generic everyday whacko so familiar to those who live in or visit the area. Sure there are exceptions (Estella Scott comes off as the only decent person in all of Southern California), but there's nothing very deep or intriguing to any of their stories. It's all about the same load of self-absorbed elitists you'd expect to find in La-La Land, and as might be expected all of the wacky individual takes on art, poetry and performance are somewhat less than astounding.
Essentially a scrapbook of snapshots of the lives and institutions of Tinseltown all intermingling with one another MONDO HOLLYWOOD is barely even an excuse to serve as an inspiration to better modern-day documentary filmmakers such as Larry Wessel. Never are we graced with inside dirt on the murders, prostitution, hard drugs and pornographic scandals that Hollywood Babylon fans have been led to expect. Which is, in short, a fucking shame – as the man said, "Hollywood is a four-letter town." Much has been made of the fact that this film has been banned in France as a "danger to mental health" and it's easy to see why – it'll drive you shit-nuts with boredom.
