Mondo Hollywood

There was a time when all things psychedelic were interesting, new and novel. Today we know a lot more about the drugs and all of a sudden what was once fresh is now strange. Such is Robert Carl Cohen’s underground 1967 documentary Mondo Hollywood. What once caused a storm of controversy is now pretty tame, mundane even.

According to the promotional material, Mondo Hollywood was set to open the 1968 Avignon and Venice Film Festivals but was banned by the French government. The CIA labeled the film as being Communist and the Communists turned their noses to it. And if it were released today, other than a scene with topless waitresses, Mondo Hollywood would likely see a PG rating. How the times have changed.

Mondo Hollywood is a documentary about 1960s Hollywood, or at least the odd people who called it home. The film features cameos from a bunch of A-list stars such as Julie Andrews, Alfred Hitchcock and Ronald Reagan, but they’re mostly all in the form of generic press shots. Most of the movie is dedicated to Hollywood residents that at the time would have been labeled “weird”. And in the process, “weird” defined Hollywood.

To see Mondo Hollywood today is to see a time capsule of bizarre people and things. Back when it was released transvestites and topless dancers would have been taboo in a film. Today they’re accepted by culture. Because of the change in cultural tides from when Mondo Hollywood was released until now, what Cohen presents as America’s equivalents to sideshow oddities is now a mishmash of underground cultures that have mostly gained acceptability. Some of the “oddities” such as vegetarianism and yoga have even hit the mainstream and entered into popular culture.

Mondo Hollywood is dated fare and as a result it’s pretty boring. The film cuts from one person’s story to another without much connection other than their location in and around Hollywood. Cohen is arguing that these sideshows are what make Hollywood so unique, but I never got much of a feeling that Hollywood was the focus. Where these people lived was irrelevant. But I guess one could counter argue that such strange folks could only live in Hollywood. With that I disagree. Transvestites, topless dancers, recreational drug users, artists – they’re everywhere in North America and all over the world. They live down the street; they live next door. Heck, you might even fit the bill of one of Mondo Hollywood‘s “freaks” yourself.

Time has not served Mondo Hollywood well. At one time it might have been banned, but today it’s mundane more than anything else. For those looking for a flashback to a different era it certainly is a peculiarity. For everyone else, it’s – well – just plain ole’ peculiar.