I agonized over what rating to give DAYDREAM BELIEVERS, because while it's fun to watch, it has some serious shortcomings too. To start with some of the positives, it's an enjoyable and decently produced film, and the actors playing the Monkees certainly look and act their parts well. I like too that the decision was made to use the original audio recordings of the group when the actors re-created their musical performances.

However, if you listen to the commentaries on the DVD by the director and three of the Monkees - Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, and Davy Jones - you discover that there are a lot of inaccuracies in the film. Some are minor, such as showing all four Monkees together almost all the time, when in reality some were absent in certain situations. But some errors are unforgivable, such as taking a moment of major conflict between Jones and Tork, which actually happened, and creating a totally fictional background for it! However, the consensus seems to be that despite the inaccuracies, the overall gist of the Monkees' story shown here is true. Also, at 91 minutes long, there's a rather rushed feeling to DAYDREAM BELIEVERS, so it mostly just hits the highlights.



The interviews of Jones, Dolenz, and Tork on the DVD are interesting too, and give updates on what the three of them have been up to since the Sixties. The film itself is weak on this, and should at least have dealt with the breakup of the group in 1970, rather than tacking on a fictional "happy ending" and stopping there. In sum, thanks to the commentaries and interviews I recommend this DVD, but without them I would hesitate to. So does it really deserve 4 stars? OK, so it's not a CASABLANCA or a 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, but still it's a fun nostaligia trip if you care at all about the Monkees.