The Smiley Smile Message Board

http://www.warnerbros.com/#/page=home&asset=088421/Americathon_-_Available_November_30_on_DVD&type=video/

Wow, this trailer looks worse than I could have possibly imagined.
How many Beach Boys songs are actually in the film?

And do any BBs have cameos?

Who the hell has been begging for that?!?

I don't think begging is the term I'd use. That sets up negative connotations, like I couldn't live without it, but that wasn't the case at all.

I'd love to know what the board meeting was like:

WB Executive: "Well, the Beach Boys 50th anniversary is coming up, something released on those lines might be popular"

Warner Brother lackey: "How about we buy the rights to that Dennis Wilson BBC documentary and sell that on DVD?"

WB Executive: "Who the hell would want to see that? No, I watched a real gem of a movie once, Americathon I think it was called, it had a great Beach Boys song in there....yeah, that's what the consumer wants....let's release that asap"

"It's A Beautiful Day" is the track to the opening credits of the movie. And no, The Beach Boys are not in the movie at all.

We got Howard the Duck on the dvd, so nothing is impossible to release

IIRC, before the tracks starts, the DJ introduces the song as being sung by The Sons Of Beach Boys.

How is this not some sort of cult film. It is so so so bad.

i think i have 1 or 2 copies of this soundtrack on vinyl....one stamped as being a 'promo' copy.

This comes out!!! And they can't even get Season 7 of the Mary Tyler Moore Show out,  arguably one of the best TV shows of all time!!?!?!?

I dunno...Meatloaf getting run over by a car is ok in my book.  :-)

Would watch an entire 90 minutes of Meatloaf being run over, tbh

I've got worse than that-he did a gig last year at our rugby ground. Unfortunately, he decided to try some of the local ales before the gig. Quite a few, actually. Cue 90mins of a jibbering wreck wailing to a silent, quickly emptying crowd!!

It is noteworthy (sort of)  for having a couple of the Firesign Theater guys in it, whose sketch was a basis for the movie (not that the movie is any good).  Also Elvis Costello premieres "Crawling to America".   Besides that, meh.   

Was this a Zucker brothers movie?

Nope.

Keep in mind, this is a Warner Archive release, meaning it's burned to DVD-R and not a properly manufactured DVD. Warner Home Video started this division up about a year ago and is, in effect, dumping much of the catalog they know won't sell much into it. The heartbreak is when you have something like Robert Altman's BREWSTER McCLOUD released on DVD-R or a lesser-know Fritz Lang film. AMERICATHON, on the other hand, is perfect for this format...unless you actually want to own the film; then you have to pay $25 for a disc that has the potential to be unplayable in three years or so.

I saw the film in a theatre in '79 and never wanted to see it again. Sadly, the screenwriter, Monica Johnson, passed away about three weeks ago; while this film wasn't a shining moment for her, her collaborations with Albert Brooks were.