In the mid-1980's the coffeehouse movement in Los Angeles was beginning with wild promise. A tattered Hollywood storefront called The Pikme-up became the prototype for a new subculture that started as an unruly rebellion and exploded into a national phenomenon. The place was a bohemian revolution, a happening of ideas, poetry, music, and performance where a motley group of outcasts formed a unique community and an enduring family. Our documentary on The Pikme-up utilizes an amazing wealth of materials--more than 5000 photographs, over 200 video hours of performances, hundreds of print elements, and intimate interviews with friends, employees, and performers. We hope our experimentation with the materials and how memory is represented in film is true to the spirit of this amazing moment in Los Angeles cultural history.

The Pikme-Up

Attractive and sexy 1960's era suburban housewives, all dressed in mid-century modern pitch-perfect styles, are hell bent on one-upping each other as "Hostess with the Mostess." They hold dinner parties that become increasingly boozy, flirtatious and wild -- and soon more than recipes get swapped.

The Casserole Club

A young musician recovers from the loss of his girlfriend with the help of his female filmmaker friend, and even forms a friendship with the rival who stole her.