Space Happy: Phil Thomas and the Uncharted Zone
directed by Louis Crisitello
starring Phil Thomas Katt
Imagine if Second City Television invented MTV. Back in the good old days of floppy discs and classic rock, Phil Thomas lived in Pensacola out on the western tip of Florida. He was a musician, performer, and entertainment Jack of all trades. He created rock videos for his music, DJ’d weddings, and tried his level best to be as hip as anyone could be on the tip of the panhandle. There was talent around him, names you never heard, like Kenneth L. Manning or Michael J. McCartan.
Phil was a mover and shaker in the C-90 cassette tape business. He never got rich and never made it to MTV, but he had fun and he was a legit entertainer in a place where most of the fun was had by Navy fliers testing aircraft.
The cool thing about Phil is he’s still rocking after all these years. His glasses are too dark and his hair too thin, but damn, the boy has perseverance. He’s still showing up at conventions, and he still has followers. In many ways, he’s a West Florida Rodney Bingenheimer: a mover and shaker in the music business, carrying on way past his glory days.
It’s a slice-of-life rock doc, and while Phil tried to look cool, he missed by just THAT much. But he’s happy and solvent, and supported by friends and listeners. And as in all small towns, you may hold multiple roles in your community. That’s the joy of this documentary: Seeing someone doing what he loves with people who respect him.
