The Song: Love You Till Tuesday

Released in 1967 (before Bowie made it proper big), Love You Till Tuesday is all about falling head-over heels in love.

Bowie seems really excited about this love. He does lots of silly things like hiding and trees and waving flags. You know, the usual lovey-dovey stuff.

It never made it into the UK charts. This might have been because it was bonkers. Utterly bonkers.

For some reason, Bowie’s love has an expiry date. We don’t ever really figure out why, and there’s not much of a plot.

It’s up to Hollywood to remedy that.

The Movie:

Set in a sunny west-coast beach town, the film centres around Ben, a single twenty-something, who is out to find the woman of his dreams. Sadly, Ben was previously involved in an accident, which has left him with a rare form of amnesia.

This dictates that his short term memory lasts only a week before it’s erased completely. He forgets everything – including, predictably, relationships.

Ben goes through a long line of girlfriends, promptly ditching them when the week’s up and his memory is wiped clean. Then he starts all over again.

 The film doesn’t dwell on technicalities surrounding the accident or brain injury, as the entire notion is as impervious to scientific scrutiny as a sock is to runny dog poo.

But, hey-ho, who needs logic when you’ve got a (seemingly endless) stream of fit Californian girls, each eager to prove a more memorable girlfriend than the last? Cue pop-punk montage.

The Cast:

Ben is played by Ben Stiller. It’s not too much of a stretch for him – he doesn’t even have to learn a new name or anything.

Plus, the character’s pretty generic, pretty, you know, nothing really, so requires an actor who’s not going to deviate too much from that mould.

Jack Black co-stars as Harry, Ben’s feckless loser of a roommate.  Ben doesn’t remember Harry, but it’s okay, because there’s a hilarious running joke where Harry keeps having to explain who he is.

When Casey, Ben’s high school sweetheart (played by Heather Graham) turns up, out of the blue, they fall in love all over again. And so for the big question: will their love outlive the week? (Of course it will.)

Sample Dialogue:

Ben: I’ll always love you –
Casey: –Until your love runs dry.

Next: The Man Who Sold The World