Toomorrow

Fetching and talented young stars, a delightfully groovy soundtrack that really bops; a primary plot that seems a precursor for 'Bill and Ted's excellent adventure' and its sequels; a subplot revolving around student organization and collective action - this movie has it all! There's much about 'Toomorrow' that's a bit dated, yet cheesy as it may be, the fun hasn't aged one bit. I can't help myself: this is a really good time!

It's not lost on me that musical movies are quite relegated to a very niche audience. Pick a genre, from singing cowboys to 'A hard day's night,' from Disney ditties to 'Pitch Perfect,' and there's no denying that they are likely in one way or another to appeal to only select audiences. That's kind of unavoidable with the kitsch that often accompanies performance, to say nothing of personal preferences when it comes to music. This is really quite unfortunate, as not only does a lot of work go into these pictures, but if one can get past their preconceptions, there's a whole lot to like about them. Like the titular band, 'Toomorrow' only wants to have a blast, and that's just what we get. The original songs penned by Ritchie Adams and Mark Barkan are rich and enticing, and from one to the next it's hard to pick a favorite - though as the first sound to greet our ears, the title song has an unfair advantage. For that matter, the original score of Hugo Montenegro is also a definite treat. One certainly wishes the contributions of Adams, Barkan, and Montenegro were all featured even more throughout the length.

The cast are wonderfully charming; though there's no real depth to the characters, all on hand do a fine job of bringing the parts to life with great spirit - and naturally, Olivia Newton-John rather steals the spotlight. Like the character writing, the plot is very light. It's all that it needs to be, however, to provide 90 minutes of satisfying entertainment, and there are some smart inclusions at one point or another, including some sly cleverness in the dialogue and scene writing to pepper the picture with a touch of humor by way of quips and sight gags. There's no missing the jest poking fun at then-burgeoning electronic music; I deeply appreciate the passing line that rightly criticizes a young civilization governed by old minds. Just because 'Toomorrow' is built for uncomplicated amusement doesn't mean that it can't also bear some wit and intelligence!

The special effects are pretty much on par for the timeframe. The more heavily they're centered in a scene, the less believable they are, but at large the post-production measures are just fine. The filming locations are swell, while the sets built at legendary Pinewood Studios are rather fantastic. The alien spaceship could have gone very wrong, but it looks duly trippy in keeping with the tone of the film; the aliens themselves leave a bit to be desired, but we don't see much of them. The costume design and hair and makeup work are super, and for that matter, basically all the work put in behind the scenes is just swell. The real focus in 'Toomorrow' is on the music, and to a lesser extent on the cast, with writing sufficient to give form and pretense to the silliness. When all is said and done this maybe isn't an essential must-see, but I also rather think it's sadly neglected - more than a little gauche, 'Toomorrow' only wants its audience to enjoy themselves, and I for one absolutely did. Recommendable especially for viewers who admire pop music of the late 60s and early 70s, as far as I'm concerned this is well worth a mere 90 minutes of your time!

One of the first films I went to see on my own (in 1970), at the tender age of 14. Well into the synth music of the time, a short piece on TV pushed me to go and see it.

I understood RCA had a number of legal problems with it and thought it would never see the light of day again. However, I managed to obtain a copy of the sound track some 25 years later, but would still love to see the original film again.

Although admittedly a higher quality picture than I had expected it would be, "Toomorrow" is hopelessly(no...make that wonderfully) dated and rather short on ideas (in fact, the ideas that are in play are pretty weak).

Olivia Newton-John is lovely here, not yet having made her breakthrough in music or films, as the sole female member of a young and very ambitious music band called "Toomorrow" (oooh, groovy!) Their happening tunes are picked up through radiowaves by an extraterrestrial race who are desperate for "new audio vibes". The aliens then embark on a sinister mission...to "kidnap" the band in order to interrogate them for the secrets of their unique "vibrations".

Chock full of twee but catchy bubblegum music interludes, "Toomorrow" was possibly designed to create a public introduction to the manufactured band of the title, a la THE MONKEES (hmmm....I assume Miss Newton-John is not displeased that this marketing strategy failed).

Neither especially satisfying nor entirely unappealing, "Toomorrow" is mostly watchable from a hindsight of four decades as a novelty...a film of its time which nostalgic types might find amusing. Too, it features some fairly decent special effects for a lower-berth picture of 1970.

4.5/10

I absolutely love ONJ. She has always brought a smile to me and can't whisk me into a good mood. I was so excited to find a bootleg of this on Ebay (soundtrack disk included!) and rushed to watch it.

Ummm, It felt longer than Gandhi, the music was uber cheesy but catchy..i vaguely recall rolling in bed later that night, having nightmares to the tune of "Taking Our Own Sweet Time", one of the films stickier jams. The drummer has swing, Olivia feels underused and the music is competent, if uninspired.

Toomorrow's special effects were good though. Xanadu is my favorite of ONJ's films and this definitely pre-dates some of that neon blue post disco vibe with its trail effects.

My Disk came with some extra gifts, one being the CD soundtrack to the film. This thing is gonna collect some serious dust. If Aliens need the music of Tomorrow to survive, there surely isn't intelligent life out there.

My disk came with an Extra of her performing "Have You Never Been Mellow" on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. That was the point when I really felt I got my money's worth.

If you liked Grease and are curious about an older film of hers, don't bother. If you are a completest, feel free...but you have been warned.

Toomorrow is definitely not as bad as has been reported. It is actually an enjoyable movie. It is no "Grease" but definitely better than "Two of a Kind." It is equal to "Xanadu" and probably better.

To me Olivia was being natural with her perky personality. Her acting did not seem like acting as it did in Xanadu when she tells Sunny that she is a muse. Instead everyone in the Toomorrow group seem to be enjoying themselves as they go through the film.

Granted the movie is not Oscar material but considering how bad so much is today, I would love to see Toomorrow on the big screen or at least come out on DVD.

Definitely worth a look.