Robyn Hitchcock Movies

Does it take twelve steps to sell a project in Hollywood? Leonard (Joshua Leonard) and Nelson (Sean Nelson) are writing partners who have been trying to break into the movie business for years; Nelson has a hefty trust fund and often finds himself supporting his friend Leonard, who has lots of ideas but doesn't deal with well the real world. One evening, Leonard is knocking back beers in a low-rent saloon when he meets Gregg D (Ross Partridge), a well-known A-list actor with rampant substance abuse problems. Leonard starts pitching some ideas to Gregg, and the star seems interested, but before long he wanders out and the next day Leonard learns Gregg has gone back into rehab. Leonard figures the best way to sell Gregg on his ideas is to check into the same facility, but Gregg is recovering at Wingspan, a rehab center that looks like an upscale country club and costs $10,000 a week. Leonard and Nelson have to talk Nelson's big brother (John Hodgman), who oversees his trust fund, into bankrolling Leonard's stay at Wingspan, and once he makes it in, Leonard's sessions with therapist Mad Reg (Robyn Hitchcock) make him wonder if he doesn't have some serious problems after all. Directed by Steven Schardt and Sean Nelson, Treatment received its world premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Filmmaker Sebastian Gutierrez writes and directs this ensemble comedy following ten Los Angeles women over the course of 24 hours. When porn starlet Electra Luxx (Carla Gugino) discovers that she's pregnant, her wild world of pleasure and excess is suddenly turned upside down. Subsequently stuck in an elevator with neurotic Doris (Connie Britton), Electra realizes she's standing at a pivotal crossroads in life. Meanwhile, adult film up-and-comer Holly Rocket (Adrianne Palicki) struggles with her reluctance to go girl-on-girl in front of the cameras by putting on a private show with her sexy friend Bambi (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a therapist (Sarah Clarke) turns to the bottle after discovering her husband has been unfaithful, a flight attendant (Marley Shelton) applies for membership in the Mile High Club with a famous passenger, and a precocious teen (Isabella Gutierrez) realizes that the adults in her life aren't nearly as well adjusted as they'd like her to believe. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

British singer and songwriter Robyn Hitchcock has been a cult favorite since beginning his career with the group the Soft Boys in the mid-1970's. Hitchcock's songs are immediately recognizable for their lovely but fractured melodic sense and his eccentric worldview, with images of fish, insects and death prominent in his bitterly witty lyrics. While Hitchcock has never enjoyed major commercial success, he's long been a favorite with other musician, and Peter Buck of R.E.M. has been an outspoken fan and collaborator for years. In 2006, Hitchcock and his ad hoc band the Venus Three -- featuring Buck and two members of R.E.M.'s touring ensemble, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin -- convened at Hitchcock's home in West London to record his sixteenth solo album, Ole! Tarantula!. Filmmaker John Edginton was on hand with a camera crew to capture the proceedings, and Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death and Insects offers an intimate look at the creative process of this one-of-a-kind artist. Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death and Insects features cameo appearances from Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, British pop legend Nick Lowe and American alt-country favorite Gillian Welch, all of whom lend their talents to Hitchcock's recording sessions. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Jonathan Demme directed this updated remake of John Frankenheimer's 1962 cult favorite The Manchurian Candidate, a pioneering examination of political conspiracy and psychological reconditioning. Major Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) and Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) are two soldiers who served in the same company during Operation Desert Storm, but their paths following their tours of duty have been very different. Shaw, the son of powerful congresswoman Eleanor Shaw (Meryl Streep), has used his reputation as a war hero to quickly scale the ladder of American politics, and with the help of his mother earns the Vice Presidential nomination. Marco, on the other hand, has been troubled with mental illness, and is convinced that something strange happened to him and his compatriots during the war. As Marco struggles to find the truth behind his nightmares and emotional torment, he unearths some disturbing facts about how his mind and body have been reworked by shadowy forces, as well as those of his fellow soldiers -- including Raymond Shaw. Featuring a stellar supporting cast (including Jon Voight, Miguel Ferrer, Ted Levine, and Dean Stockwell), The Manchurian Candidate credits George Axelrod's screenplay for the 1962 film as its source, as opposed to Richard Condon's 1959 novel from which Axelrod adapted his script. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rock-music lover and feature-film director Jonathan Demme takes on eccentric British singer-songwriter, Robyn Hitchcock, in an ambitious concert film, though tinier in scope than his previous rock-film effort, Stop Making Sense(1984), featuring Talking Heads. Setting up a stage in a New York storefront, Hitchcock plays with his back to the glass, while an audience looks on inside and passersby view the action through the window; it's not much different from what happens at a live Hitchcock show, aside from the window. In his clear voice, Hitchcock preambles his songs with explanations so long they are like mini-films themselves; he even rambles about his practice of rambling! Delivered with Hitchcock's unnerving deadpan wit and complex guitarwork, after over an hour of pure music and plenty of close-ups, it's unclear what Demme was after -- to convert the world into Hitchcock fans, or to reveal a man behind the madcap moods and masks he dons throughout his performances? ~ Denise Sullivan, Rovi