Work Of Spike Jones

Side B: A bunch of shorts and documentaries (including a mockumentary about the Torrance Community Dance Group of the Praise You fame, starring Jonze as "Richard Koufey"), but nothing remarkable, really. The most amusing offering here was his "audition tape" for Rockafella Skank, which was a precursor to Praise You.

Among the memorable music videos are Wax's "California" in which a man runs down the street, with his back and legs covered in flames, Bjork's acrobatic "It's Oh So Quiet," Christopher Walken's antigravity romp in Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice," Weezer's "Buddy Holly" with the Happy Days singing thing, and the Chemical Bros. "Elektrobank" starring hit director Sophia Coppola as a gymnast. And the high point, music-video-wise, is the Beastie Boys' outstandingly funny spoof of 70s cop shows (complete with funny hair).

Alongside this are the documentaries: the former Pharcyde rapper is the focus of "What's Up Fatlip?", which blossoms into more than just a documentary. "Torrance Rises" is the strangely heartwarming tale of a dance company getting ready for MTV, there's a behind-the-scenes look at a Pharcyde music video, and "Amarillo By Morning" related some bully stories. And almost all the musicians provide commentary and interviews -- accompanied by a booklet with a bit more info.

The world of Spike Jonze is one filled with strange and wonderful things. Don't expect anything, because you will only be wrong -- from the sparkling Bjork video, to humor and wit ("Sabotage"'s spoof), to outright surreality (the backwards-filmed "Drop").

Jonze himself has a flair for being funny and charming in his documentaries, such as "Amarillo" or "What's Up..." Even if you don't have an interest in cowboys, dancers, the Pharcyde or Derrick "Fatlip" Stewart, you might be interested in the documentaries. And the "Drop" making-of video is worth checking out if you have any interest in moviemaking.

The main area in which "Work" stumbles is that it excludes some worthy material -- Pavement, Sonic Youth, R.E.M. and Ween among them. However, the material on this is among his best, and it shows his range -- he can do whimsical, humorous, strange and slam-bang brilliance. There's a dreamlike quality to most of the music videos, but his documentaries keep their feet firmly on the ground.

"The Work of Director Spike Jonze" lets fans into the music videos and documentaries helmed by this brilliant young director. Definitely worth checking out as a part of this excellent series.