Name: 200 Motels
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Music
Released: 1971-11-10
Duration: 98 min
Rating: 7.1
Cast: Frank Zappa, Mark Volman, Howard Kaylan, Ian Underwood, Aynsley Dunbar

1971·Fantasy·1h 38m

7.1

★

"Touring makes you crazy," Frank Zappa says, explaining that the idea for this film came to him while the Mothers of Invention were touring. The story, interspersed with performances by the Mothers and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, is a tale of life on the road. The band members' main concerns are the search for groupies and the desire to get paid.

Directed by Tony Palmer and Frank Zappa

surreal

groupie

american musician

Trailer

IMDB

N/A

Where to Watch

Cast

Frank Zappa

Member of Mothers of Invention (uncredited)

George Duke

Member of Mothers of Invention

Theodore Bikel

Rance Muhammitz / Dave

Keith Moon

Hot Nun

Ringo Starr

Larry the Dwarf / Frank Zappa

Crew

Tony Palmer

Director

Frank Zappa

Director

Frank Zappa

Screenplay

Tony Palmer

Writer

Frank Zappa

Original Music Composer

Tony Palmer

Director of Photography

Frank Zappa

Music Arranger

George Duke

Musician

Popular Reviews

13 reviews

Bradley Robins

9.0★ · 03/26/26

Not one invention was made by a single mother.

Willy

4.0★ · 01/12/26

Crazy

Megan Goatley

7.0★ · 09/13/25

This felt like being hooked up to an IV of Ketamine

LordLeek

6.6★ · 06/12/23

as my mother said best: “this may shock you, but some people are just off their nut”.

i’m not sure there are any better ways to describe frank zappa & the mothers.

also, if you were ever wondering whether or not you have epilepsy, don’t worry. you’ll find out pretty quickly watching this.

cowfemme

7.0★ · 12/20/22

that boy aint right..