Surprisingly incoherent and boring

How sad is this?

Good concept, poorly executed.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

"Buyer beware" that's the cautionary tale underscored in Russ Meyer's campy, melodramatic foray into the seedy underbelly of Hollywood, where sex, drugs and every vice imaginable runs rampant after dark. The film is co-written alongside Meyer by Roger Ebert. Together there cynicism and self-awareness help elevate a scattershot screenplay that's filled with clichés, and under-cooked plot threads.The film follows three young women performing in a rock band 'The Kelly Affair' featuring Kelly (Dolly Read), Casey (Cynthia Myers), and Petronella (Marcia McBroom). They are managed by Kelly's boyfriend Harris (David Gurian). Together they head to Los Angeles to collect Kelly's inheritance. Upon arrival she meets with her estranged aunt, who invites them to a party, which gives the group a taste of the high-life. Whilst simultaneously, outside influences begin digging their claws in, which starts splitting the four friends apart piece by piece, as is the nature of the beast.For the most part this film doesn't live up to the craziness the films reputation has. For it's time I could imagine the ruckus it caused, but by today's standard it's fairly tame. So where this films main focus is now, is in its characters, all of whom are hyperbolic and aren't given a great deal to work with. However there's a strange likability to the characters that makes you care for them.There isn't a great deal of plot in this film, other then a power struggle over the band between Harris and the bands new manager, which isn't fully explored. The film acts more as voyeuristic look at the hippie scene of the late 60's early 70's, as the parties become more and more crazy and dangerous. All of which leads up to a final act that is so over the top, and so far out of left field. I've never seen a film shift gears into sheer mania so quickly.Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a dated film. It's script and parables are at times fairly clunky and in your face. However there is a-lot of fun to be had from this film, and it's a film that still has a-lot of gas left in its tank.

This is not a sequel to the Valley of the Dolls. Kelly MacNamara, Senator's daughter Casey Anderson, and Pet Danforth are in a girl rock band. Along with Kelly's boyfriend Harris Allsworth, they decide to drive to L.A. Kelly finds her estranged aunt Susan Lake who inherited the family fortune. To her sleazy money man Porter Hall's dismay, Susan promises one third of the fortune to her niece. Rock producer Z-Man Barzell takes over the band and Kelly falls for money grubbing gigolo Lance Rocke. Harris feels Kelly drifting away and is seduced by porn star Ashley St. Ives. Kelly wants more of the inheritance. The young group gets pull further and further into the wild risqué world.This is definitely a Russ Meyer movie with his love of the female body. Roger Ebert has written a hippie soap opera. By the time of Harris' attempted suicide, this ridiculous movie turns into a comedy. An abortion has never been filmed in a more silly way. The scramble eggs are not lost on the audience. The problem is always the limited acting talents of the cast. They fail to make their characters compelling. The cheese factor is very high. It's almost a spoof. The ending does spin out of control as if Ebert knew that he had to top all the ridiculous stuff from before. I don't want to be mean-spirited but I laughed at Harris and his wheelchair.

There are points in this movie that I believe no one can proceed any further without discarding any thought of taking seriously. I'm reminded of a my first viewing of "This Is Spinal Tap" and how one of the audience members I knew got up right in the middle of the film and left with his girlfriend because it attacked the lifestyle they embraced.WELL...Stay and watch.Can you imagine the filming of this movie? The Z-Man party scenes? I'm going to collapse a lung laughing about Russ Myer domineering the circus that must have taken place while getting this all down on film. Filming scenes has a personality of its own. Imagine what happened here in 1970 with the scenes of decadence and debauchery for the age it was in. Just try and imagine this set up of camera and sound people and the rest of the production crew watching this unfold in the background. Perhaps no filming event before or since has been such a ridiculous stage of campy carnal depravity. It's a good thing that the music was turned up- to drown out the laughter and giggling of the production crew.Yeah...these actors thought they were filming a serious movie.

Yeah...it's atrocious, but immensely watchable. One sits there dumbfounded trying to determine what exactly Russ Meyer's intentions were. Was he really trying to butcher the memory of Jacqueline Susann's sleazy VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (which in itself was nerve-numbingly bad) or was the soft core king simply making another of his lame-brained un-erotic erotic epics, albeit one with a rather large budget. In any event, what's here is so goofy and so hyperactive that you can't help but enjoy it. The acting is lousy all around and the editing is done with a dull razor. When Meyer isn't using endless dissolves over endless montages, his camera appears to be on a broken dolly. The script is credited to Roger Ebert, which is even more perplexing as he's become so well known (rightly so) as such a wonderful writer. His script here is a square's version of a dirty movie. Marcia McBroom, Dolly Read, and Cynthia Myers play the leads...rock stars of the Josie & the Pussycats ilk. They're awful. The colorful supporting cast includes Michael Blodgett, Edy Williams, Erica Gavin, and Phyllis Davis.