From RiffTrax: Bridget and Mary Jo’s Christmas Special

54 Replies to “From RiffTrax: Bridget and Mary Jo’s Christmas Special”

1. Dr. Frankenkeister says:

   December 20, 2015 at 12:54 am

   jaybird3rd: Yes.This is something I always need to explain to newcomers to MST3K, especially those who are already familiar with Rifftrax, who see the episodes that I find hilarious as somehow “tame” because they weren’t sour and cynical and trashing the movie at every opportunity.If you read a Twitter-length synopsis of MST3K, you might get the impression that it was all about “punishing” or “ridiculing” the movies, but if you look at it less superficially, there’s very evident affection for many of these movies (or at least for the kinds of bad movies that they were, if that makes sense).That’s something that the show wandered away from in the later seasons, and it is almost completely absent in Rifftrax.

   During the publicity for the Kickstarter campaign, Joel did a lot of interviews in which he talked about what made MST3K so special.I got the impression that he was speaking not just as the creator of the show (although that certainly helped), but as someone who has given prolonged thought to the show’s entire creative output, both the episodes he was personally involved in and the ones that Mike hosted after he left.Frankly, I think 2015 Joel understands MST3K even better than 1993 Joel did, because he’s had all those intervening years to reflect on it, to see what other people have done with movie riffing, and to separate in his own mind what works and what doesn’t work.

   In any case, his remarks make me believe that he understands the tonality problem that you’re talking about.He seems determined to position MST3K to fill that void in today’s riffing universe by embracing the style of humor that it had in its earlier years, while still updating the show and making it something more than just an imitation of the past.The good news is that you don’t have to be older to prefer the “classic” MST3K style of humor over Rifftrax’s snarky and cynical smartass style–I’m 39, which places me squarely in the Gen-X age group, and I know which style I enjoy more–so I’m hopeful that the new show will take the right approach and find a loyal audience of people who enjoy movie riffing but are increasingly turned off by the harsher tone that riffing has taken in recent years.

   Yes, but Cinematic Titanic was just as snarky and smartass as Rifftrax was on the movies they did, especially the live releases. Joel was the creator and member of that enterprise as well. And it wasn’t that long ago or at least closer to the present than Joel’s time was on the original MST. Joel clearly enjoyed the experience or at least conveyed as much onstage when CT performed. Wouldn’t that mean he endorses that kind of riffing? I couldn’t really notice the affection during something like The Alien Factor or Rattlers or with other live shows they did that I attended. They wholeheartedly ripped into those movies as well. You’d think that CT would’ve have been that outlet for the kind of riffing you mention that MST did prior to mid-season 5. After all, Joel back in 2011 didn’t know what would happen with MST in 2015. Nevertheless, CT was harsh and biting as well. Perhaps Joel didn’t enjoy that riffing style or he says he doesn’t, but he sure didn’t mask his laughter at it onstage.

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2. jaybird3rd says:

   December 20, 2015 at 1:31 am

   Dr. Frankenkeister: Yes, but Cinematic Titanic was just as snarky and smartass as Rifftrax was on the movies they did, especially the live releases.Joel was the creator and member of that enterprise as well.And it wasn’t that long ago or at least closer to the present than Joel’s time was on the original MST.Joel clearly enjoyed the experience or at least conveyed as much onstage when CT performed.Wouldn’t that mean he endorses that kind of riffing?I couldn’t really notice the affection during something like The Alien Factor or Rattlers or with other live shows they did that I attended.They wholeheartedly ripped into those movies as well.You’d think that CT would’ve have been that outlet for the kind of riffing you mention that MST did prior to mid-season 5.After all, Joel back in 2011 didn’t know what would happen with MST in 2015.Nevertheless, CT was harsh and biting as well.Perhaps Joel didn’t enjoy that riffing style or he says he doesn’t, but he sure didn’t mask his laughter at it onstage.

   Remember, though, that Cinematic Titanic was a different project. The types of movies they chose seemed to me to be deliberately different than the ones they would have chosen for MST3K, and they were riffing the movies as themselves and not as their MST3K characters, so they were enjoying certain liberties that they wouldn’t have had within the trappings of MST3K. I don’t necessarily take that as an indication of what Joel will do with the new episodes.

   I wouldn’t quite agree that CT’s humor was the same as Rifftrax’s, either. You mentioned “The Alien Factor”: their riff of that movie–which I think was among their best work–was still more good-natured than what you would have seen if Rifftrax had done it. Look at their review of the movie on the Cinematic Titanic website while you still can (click my username for a link); it’s pretty clear from Joel’s and Mary Jo’s remarks that they have a lot of affection for the movie and the people behind it, despite the mileage they got out of its flaws. As Mary Jo herself says: “Sometimes people think that we’re riffing on these movies out of contempt, and for me, that’s just not so – I have a great affection for these films.”

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3. littleaimishboy says:

   December 20, 2015 at 2:25 pm

   As Mary Jo herself says –

   “Good God, we watched some wretched movies. This is another one of those movies where we were hostage to watching Rick Baker’s protracted masturbatory special effects. I can’t help but feel that most, if not all, of the melting scenes were shot in the dark for a reason.”

   and

   “Did anyone notice that this was a really, really bad movie? The lead guy, Kim Somebody, is another sterling example of how filmmaking is not a meritocracy. The fact that this film was even made proves that ‘anybody can do it.'”

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4. jaybird3rd says:

   December 20, 2015 at 4:41 pm

   @53: Yeah. So? My point wasn’t that they had a soft spot for each and every movie that they watched, but that “trashing the movie” wasn’t all there was to MST3K at its best.

   Maybe Mike had the right idea in #50: best to bow out and not bother arguing with people who don’t get it and will never see eye to eye with you anyway.

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