Quite by coincidence, I stumble across this just after watching Spiderhead on Netflix, the Chris Hemsworth drug-experiment meh-fest. And what a difference! Beverly H. Probably had 1/50th the budget, but delivers 5X the entertainment value.
There is a definite David Lynch feeling here, like early Lynch from the 80s and 90s. There is the cheesy, "underground" piano bar decked out in bordello red, like some 1960s steak house. The smarmy lounge singer played by Eugene Butler, who comes off as a low rent Eddie Fisher. Oh, and he has a big secret: he's Dr, Bob Karsten, pharmaceutical genius and deeply unethical mad scientist! He is surrounded by a bevvy of 20-something hotties who reminisce over their days in the go-go, swinging London of 1969.
Then we have the pharma CEO, Beverly (Dianne Jones), a rather wooden, matter-of-fact, quite indecisive leader tormented over whether to go forward with a youth-restoring pill that would make her famous and mega-wealthy. She has ethical concerns since the trial data is quite dodgy. Her company is days from bankruptcy and takeover by an evil hedge fund manager, so more pressure there. Her marriage is in shambles thanks to a callow, cheating husband. Her colleagues are weak, craven.
That's just the start. Halfway through the movie the plot really takes off. Some psychedelic, trippy visuals and encounters. A mystery "guide" in cowboy attire (looks a bit like Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy) on sleazy Walk-of-Fame Hollywood Blvd. A back alley encounter with a flighty friend. A few night-time drives through Beverly Hills in her top down Bentley. A tense board meeting. For the braniacs there is the moral dilemma about whether immortality is something we should want.
Overlay this with what I am pretty sure is deliberately bad acting on Jone's part -- she reminds me of Joan Bennet in the Dark Shadows gothic soap of the 60s reading her lines off cue cards -- and some ludicrous business back story, and you get this fun movie. Not for everyone, but if you like well executed, moderately weird, whacky stories this is for you.
