Toomorrow

The American Cinemateque recently screened this rarity with co-star Olivia Newton-John in attendence. As Ms.Newton-John explained it, TOOMORROW was Don Kirshner's attempt to bring a pre-fab rock group to the big screen a la THE MONKEES. Unfortunately (or, fortunately, considering Newton-John's future success), TOOMORROW was not a hit and any further adventures of the "Band" called TOOMORROW remained unfilmed. TOOMORROW "The Movie" tells of an alien race who discover the music of Newton-John and her pop band, TOOMORROW. Seems the aliens need a break from their own computer generated music and the earthling band is just the cure. So, a convuluted plan is hatched to kidnap the band and bring them to their planet so they can record some tunes. Believe it or not, the movie isn't THAT bad -- and certainly doesn't deserve the relative oblivion it has been consigned to. All of the actors are fairly engaging, the special effects are OK, the songs are cute in a prefab "Archies" sort of way, Val Guest's (THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT, WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH) direction is brisk and Olivia shows off her long long legs with some revealing costumes. The print was supplied by the British Film Academy and it was MINT! I hope a DVD video release is in the offing. Ms. Newton-John seemed amused by the film and gratified by the audience's response.

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!

This thing is a mess but a fun mess. A strange hybrid of sci-fi aliens, lame rock music and counter culture message film. Yes, a very young and darling Olivia Newton-John stars as the lone girl in a band called Toomorrow and they play the softest, non-threatening "rock" you've ever heard and yet the hippies and the stoners go crazy for them like they are hearing Hendrix at Monterey. The "special" effects are ridiculous and the movie really is entertaining for all the wrong reasons - jaw dropping dialogue (like when the band is zapped aboard an alien UFO "Hey man, I don't dig space!") and lame attempts to inject Beatles/Monkees type comedy with a few of them sharing bathwater and changing clothes in the car on their way to a big gig. So of it's time, so dated and yet real fun. Hard to find - the DVD we got had Japan subtitles and as someone else mentioned - when the movie ended - it also had Olivia appearing on Johnny Carson as a big new singing sensation in America (no mention of Toomorrow though - hmmmm). The whole script has that feeling of fifty year old writers typing away what they think "the long hairs" are saying and doing. Laff riot.

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.

"Grease" fans in 1978 probably had little-to-no idea that co-star and pop songstress Olivia Newton-John had acted in a film eight years prior--and, at the time, she herself was probably relieved that nobody knew about it. "Toomorrow", produced in the UK (and shown theatrically there for just one week), boasts an impressive pedigree and some decent synth-based bubblegum rock, but the movie vanished almost without a trace (it was released in Japan but not until 1980, to coincide with Newton-John's "Xanadu"; there was never any interest from US distributors). Unlikely production partners Don Kirshner, the man responsible for The Monkees' early musical output, and Harry Saltzman, a co-producer of the 007 franchise, apparently had a falling out during the course of filming "Toomorrow", causing Kirshner to wash his hands of the whole debacle. Newton-John is pretty much cast as herself, a college student and vocalist named Olivia who performs in a struggling rock group based in London; her three bandmates, all randy yet clean-cut males, allow Livvy to be their mother-hen while keeping their hands to themselves (she's a good girl of the Annette Funicello school: flirt but don't touch). The band has attracted the attention of other-worldly aliens, who abduct the quartet (and their instruments!) in order to save their dying population. Comic-book nonsense looks a bit like the Disney films of the early 1960s (with the exception of a few 'naughty' bits). It's harmless and brainless and puerile, but it isn't the embarrassment Kirshner painted it as. A curiosity item and footnote in Newton-John's career; she was never much of an actress, although for her part she looks attractive here, pressed and crisp like a budding pop star, and sings in her clear, pearly voice. *1/2 from ****