''My Dinner with Jimi'' is a 2003

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

written by

Howard Kaylan Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan; June 22, 1947) is an American retired musician and songwriter, who was a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of the 1 ...

, dealing with events in 1966-67 which led up to the night in 1967 when

the Turtles The Turtles are an America, American Band (rock and pop), rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The band achieved several Top 40 hits throughout the latter half of the 1960s, including "It Ain't Me Babe" (1965), "You Baby (song), ...

encountered

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and Kaylan had dinner with

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The film also depicts other 1960s rock icons like

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

Cass Elliott Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the ...

and

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

. The film was given an extremely limited theatrical release in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in late September 2007.

Background

Plot

The story focuses on

in the days leading up to and following the success of their single " Happy Together".

and

Mark Volman Mark Randall Volman (born April 19, 1947) is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with his bandmate and friend Howard Kaylan, a member of the 1970s rock ...

receive their draft cards and

tells them to seek advice from

Herb Cohen Herbert Cohen (December 30, 1932 – March 16, 2010) was an American personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Judy Henske, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Zappa, Tim Buckley, Odetta, Tom Waits, Geor ...

, Zappa's manager and Kaylan's cousin, to avoid being drafted in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Cohen advises Kaylan to show up to the draft board intoxicated from drug use, not to bathe or sleep, and to behave so obnoxiously that the Army will not draft him, leading Kaylan and Volman to engage in a sleepless night of marijuana smoking before their draft review, which they fail due to being high while taking the tests, and Kaylan pretending to be homosexual in front of the physician and expressing psychotic views to the psychiatrist. Because they avoid the draft, the Turtles fly to

where

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is a British and American musician, singer and songwriter. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills ...

and

play them an advance reel to reel recording of the unreleased

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

album ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

'', which the Turtles declare to be the greatest album they ever heard. At a nearby pub, the Turtles have a disastrous meeting with the Beatles, in which Turtles guitarist Jim Tucker is verbally abused by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

, leading the Turtles to leave the bar as Kaylan stays behind and

, the founder of the Rolling Stones, introduces Kaylan to

, who Kaylan ends up having dinner and a conversation with, while the two drink much alcohol and smoke marijuana, with the evening ultimately ending with Kaylan vomiting on Hendrix' suit. Kaylan ultimately purchases copies of ''Sgt. Pepper'' and

the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

's debut, '' Are You Experienced?'' and Tucker quits the Turtles and the music industry, never getting over his treatment by John Lennon,Howard Kaylan interview: "My Dinner with Jimi". ''Musoscribe.com by Bill Kopp
Retrieved 18-02-11 although the postscript states that Tucker remains a fan of the Beatles' music.

Cast

Justin Henry Justin Henry (born May 25, 1971) is an American actor and businessman, known for playing Billy Kramer in the 1979 film '' Kramer vs. Kramer'', a debut role which earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination at just eight years ...

*Jason Boggs as

*Royale Watkins as

*Sean Maysonet as Jim "Tucko" Tucker *George Stanchev as Al Nichol *Kevin Cotteleer as

Jim Pons Jim Pons (born March 14, 1943) is an American bassist, author, singer, and video director who most notably played for the Leaves (1964–1967), the Turtles (1967–1970), and the Mothers of Invention (1970–1971), and Flo & Eddie (1971-1973). A ...

*Brett Gilbert as

John Barbata John Barbata (April 1, 1945 – May 8, 2024) was an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, ...

George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (October 17, 1948 – May 20, 2025) was an American actor. Wendt was best known for playing Norm Peterson on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' from 1982 to 1993, which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Em ...

as Bill Uttley *

Curtis Armstrong Curtis Johnathan Armstrong (born November 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Booger in the '' Revenge of the Nerds'' films, Herbert Viola on the TV series '' Moonlighting'', Miles Dalby in the film '' Risky ...

John Corbett John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003), ...

Henry Diltz Henry Stanford Diltz (born September 6, 1938, in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American folk musician and photographer who has been active since the 1960s. Career Photography Among the bands Diltz played with was the Modern Folk Quartet. W ...

Wendie Jo Sperber Wendie Jo Sperber (September 15, 1958 – November 29, 2005) was an American actress, known for her performances in the films ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand'' (1978), ''Bachelor Party'' (1984), and ''Back to the Future'' (1985), as well as the telev ...

as Louella *

Taylor Negron Brad Stephen "Taylor" Negron (August 1, 1957 – January 10, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, writer and artist. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Albert in '' Punchline'' (1988) and as Milo in the 1991 action comedy '' The Last Boy ...

as Dr. Barich *Brian Groh as

Quinton Flynn Quinton Flynn (born October 10, 1964) is an American voice actor and comedian, who has provided the English voices of video game characters such as Raiden in the ''Metal Gear'' series, Marcus Damon in ''Digimon Data Squad'', and Axel and his o ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Nate Dushku Nathaniel Mark Dushku (; born June 8, 1977) is an American director, producer, and actor. He is the son of Judy Dushku and the youngest of the three elder brothers of actress Eliza Dushku. Early life Dushku was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

*Ben Bode as

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

*Jay Michael Ferguson as

*Chris Soldevilla as

Rob Benedict Rob Benedict (born September 21, 1970) is an American actor and writer. His near 30 year career includes more than 90 television and movie credits. He is best known for his work on the television series ''Supernatural (American TV series), Su ...

*Jillie Simon as

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)''The International Who's Who of Women'', 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and through her associatio ...

*Chris Elwood as

Justin Hayward David Justin Hayward (born 14 October 1946) is an English musician. He was the guitarist and frontman of the rock band the Moody Blues from 1966 until its dissolution in 2018. He became the group's principal vocalist and its most prolific son ...

Todd Lowe Todd Lowe (born May 10, 1977) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Terry Bellefleur, a PTSD-suffering Iraq War veteran who works as a short order cook at Merlotte's Bar & Grill on HBO's '' True Blood'' and as Zack Van Gerbig ...

as John Lodge *Bret Roberts as

*Lisa Brounstein as

Mama Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the P ...

*Adam Tomei as

*Allison Lange as Mary Kaylan *

Fiona Loewi Fiona Loewi (born 1975) is a Canadians, Canadian actress. She attended McGill University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She is perhaps best known for her role in ''Love and Death on Long Island''. She is the mother of three ch ...

as Sue Canon

Reception

''My Dinner with Jimi'' received the best screenplay award at the 2003 Slamdunk Film Festival in Park City,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and was well received when it was shown as part of the

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

Film Festival.

References

External links

* * {{The Turtles 2003 comedy films 2003 films American comedy films American rock music films Comedy films based on actual events American films about cannabis The Beatles in film Frank Zappa Cultural depictions of Jimi Hendrix Cultural depictions of John Lennon Cultural depictions of the Beatles Cultural depictions of Brian Jones Cultural depictions of Jim Morrison The Turtles Stoner films Films directed by Bill Fishman 2000s English-language films 2000s American films