Adam Beckett (Zach Galligan) is a young man who wants to be an artist. In Europe he has tried various art mediums looking for his special niche. Adam has a nightmare where his latest attempt at playing the piano ends up being disastrous. Adam wakens to find that he is on a train. On the train he is approached by a man, a Swedish architect (Jan Triska), who recommends that he return to America to seek his calling.
When Adam gets to New York City he finds that there are strikes going on and the Port Authority has taken over control of the city. They are restricting entrance to the city through various temporary checkpoints. When Adam tells them that he is an artist, he is required to report to the Port Authority art testing center to take a test and prove his worth. He fails the test.
Adam moves in with his Aunt Anita (Anita Ellis) and Uncle Mort (Mort Sahl). The Port Authority puts him to work at the mouth of the Holland Tunnel. His job is to turn away cars that have any mechanical problems. Adam decides that in order to find his way in life he needs to find his own place to live. Eventually he finds a studio apartment that used to belong to an artist. He then meets Mara Hofmeier (Apollonia van Ravenstein). Mara also wants to be an artist so the two of them decide to experience different things to see what art forms are right for them.
One day Adam meets a homeless man named Hugo (Paul Rogers). As a gesture of kindness, Adam gives him his coffee and roll. Hugo tells him that he is a member of an underground network that runs New York City and guides everyone to their proper destiny and to bring light and understanding into the world. Adam meets Father Knickerbocker (Sam Jaffe), the leader of the underground society. He wants Adam to become a part of the underground. Adam finds himself on a bus headed for the Moon, the only place where the underground network doesn’t yet have a spiritual presence.
“Nothing Lasts Forever” was released in 1984 and was written and directed by Tom Schiller. It is an American surreal fantasy comedy. The film has never had an American theatrical release or home release, but it has had a few television releases. The only place I’ve found it is in the Internet Archives. The movie was produced by Lorne Michaels.
The film was shot in color but much of the color was taken out making most of the film black and white. The color portions are mostly the dream and moon sequences. The ‘lunar bus’ is a bit of a tardis. On the outside it looks like any regular bus, on the inside it has a grand piano accompanying Eddie Fisher (Eddie Fisher) on vocals. There is also a dining room and a ballroom for people to dance in.
Two of the stars in the film, Imogene Coca and King Donovan, were married. The movie also features Dan Aykroyd, Sam Jaffe and Bill Murray. Other than the wide variety of actors in the film, there’s not much here to get excited about. There is a lot of homage to the science fiction films of the 30’s and 40’s. It also includes some images from newsreels and early films, mostly as establishing shots. All of this is wonderful stuff, but that’s all there is. There is no real plot. It’s a strange movie and rather experimental.