Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

Director: Russ Meyer
Writer: Screenplay: Roger Ebert Story: Roger Ebert, Russ Meyers
Cast: Dolly Read, Cynthia Meyers, Marcia McBroom, John Lazar, Michael Blodgett, Edy Williams
Genre: Comedy, Music

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls comes from the pen of famous critic Roger Ebert, in cooperation with director Russ Meyer. It aims to take a highbrow view at Hollywood, filled with satire and in some cases as much disgust as anything else.

I wish I could say they were successful. There's a lot of good things to be said about it, but overall they fail on the most important parts. They ain't clear enough in their focus, as this could easily have been a high class satire, a epic story or even a drama with heart. The different directions taken throughout ruins these possibilities and drag down my verdict, but I still feel it was worth the time taken. Brushed up, a slight change in focus and a more stylish dialogue, and there's a remake classic in the making waiting for a director with eye for Ebert's vision. Still. Some of the dialogue Ebert aims for, fails miserably. He clearly thinks higher of himself than he manage to execute into working scenes.