Quagmire in Holland   B-

Year Released: 2000
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Tony Yetzer
Cast: Rex Xanders, Richard Kasper.

Self-described as a "psychedelic adventure," Quagmire in Holland is a real head-scratcher. A dude known as the International Cowboy (Rex Xanders from the rockabilly band Th' Flyin' Saucers) is lounging around his hotel room in Germany, channel-surfing, when he gets bored and calls up his buddy (Richard Kasper, guitarist for the band The Lost Vegas). They hook up and drive down to Amsterdam to interview the locals, asking off-the-wall questions like, "Where are all the windmills?"

Huh?

Exactly. All the while, a very cool psychedelic soundtrack by The Lost Vegas plays in the background. The International Cowboy conducts a lot of semi-amusing interviews with folks in Amsterdam, asking about everything from personal opinions about Bill Clinton to where to find some good hash bars. It's all lightly amusing, but it's the music and the trippy visuals (complemented by the fluid camerawork) that make Quagmire in Holland into something special. It has a laid-back, dreamlike vibe that's mesmerizing.

Oh, and this cowboy dude even takes a break from his interviewing to go shopping for some 'shrooms (they're legal there, you know). I have friends who would freak out if they could go down to a shop on the corner and buy drugs legally -- not to mention, packaged and labeled with the recommended dosage. How cool. Not that I'm into drugs or anything.

Quagmire in Holland is ultimately pointless and forgettable, but it's an enjoyable 50 minutes. If you dig psychedelic music and visuals it might be worth a look. Just don't go searching for a reason behind it all (because, to be honest with you, I don't think there is one). Even if I probably won't remember Quagmire in Holland a couple of months from now, it's still pretty cool in its own indefinable way.

It's a funny place, Amsterdam -- I think I'd like to visit. But I still wanna know where the damn windmills went.

Review published 04.15.2001.

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