"The Cool Ones" is a very bad film. Yet it's an unusual bad film because it's unintentionally funny and offers an odd little window into the strange and exciting late 60s.
The story begins on the set of a show much like "American Bandstand" or "Hullabaloo". A young obnoxious lady, Hallie, is tired of just being one of the professional dancers on the show and she tries (in the worst possible way) to get the producers to listen to her sing, as she has a VERY high opinion of her skills. The worst of it is she insists on all this moments before the show goes on the air. When she doesn't get their attention, she decides to do something insane...she attacks the guy singing on the show (Glen Campbell...before he became famous as a country music singer...when he was a member of the famed 'Wrecking Crew'). She steals his microphone away from him and begins singing...and the two struggle and shake and make fools of themselves. Oddly enough, after she is fired, the producers are shocked to find the audience watching this live LOVED the interlude and thought it was planned! Soon, Hallie is a pop star singing with the talented Cliff and they are being managed by the strange and charismatic Mr. Krum (Roddy McDowell). What's next?
The film is funny because it tries very hard to be young and hip...and fails miserably at every turn. The hip modern music sung by Hallie and Cliff is pretty bland and the sort of stuff old people thought was hip...and which wasn't. Additionally, several old squares (such as Phil Harris) played hip folks...and their trying to be cool was hilariously uncool. Also really uncool was Mr. Krum...who just came off as silly and a parody of the Phil Spector-type producers. Overall, tragically unhip...the sort of thing oldsters thought hippies and other teens would love...but they clearly didn't!
The story begins on the set of a show much like "American Bandstand" or "Hullabaloo". A young obnoxious lady, Hallie, is tired of just being one of the professional dancers on the show and she tries (in the worst possible way) to get the producers to listen to her sing, as she has a VERY high opinion of her skills. The worst of it is she insists on all this moments before the show goes on the air. When she doesn't get their attention, she decides to do something insane...she attacks the guy singing on the show (Glen Campbell...before he became famous as a country music singer...when he was a member of the famed 'Wrecking Crew'). She steals his microphone away from him and begins singing...and the two struggle and shake and make fools of themselves. Oddly enough, after she is fired, the producers are shocked to find the audience watching this live LOVED the interlude and thought it was planned! Soon, Hallie is a pop star singing with the talented Cliff and they are being managed by the strange and charismatic Mr. Krum (Roddy McDowell). What's next?
The film is funny because it tries very hard to be young and hip...and fails miserably at every turn. The hip modern music sung by Hallie and Cliff is pretty bland and the sort of stuff old people thought was hip...and which wasn't. Additionally, several old squares (such as Phil Harris) played hip folks...and their trying to be cool was hilariously uncool. Also really uncool was Mr. Krum...who just came off as silly and a parody of the Phil Spector-type producers. Overall, tragically unhip...the sort of thing oldsters thought hippies and other teens would love...but they clearly didn't!