Movie: (1968) A girl from a rural truck stop goes to Los Angeles to work as a go-go dancer, but soon gets involved with drug dealers.
First shown: April 18, 1999
Opening: Crow explains his WWBSMD bracelet; Pearl has evil plans
Intro: More bracelets; Pearl, seeking board certification from the Institute of Mad Scientists, impresses the visiting inspector
Host segment 1: Crow exacts petty, childish revenge on Mike
Host segment 2: Crow is shakin’ his moneymaker, much to Mike’s dismay
Host segment 3: Mike sings in the rain, causing much havoc
End: The movie has caused M&TB dress like the ugly thug in the movie and chuckle; this fails to impress the inspector — but Brain Guy does!
Stinger: “Oh, God, I wish I had that pretty mind back!”
(329 votes, average: 4.70 out of 5)
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• I have to put this one in the “good-not-great” category–despite some excellent riffing and host segments that are more funny than not–and the reason is the movie. This was our only real foray into the grimy, nasty world of director Ted V. Mikels, and once was enough. There are no real protagonists in this greasy little flick. Even Critter, who comes to despise the world he’s landed in, doesn’t seem to be trying very hard to break away. Even the dark and polluted world of “Manos” seems cheerful after this thing. Bleah.
• Paul’s thoughts are here.
• This episode is included in Rhino’s The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 4.
• Despite Paul’s concerns about the mad science story arc, this episode’s opening salvo is actually pretty funny. That’s Paul, of course, as the inspector.
• I love the “I want to give you a hump” bit. Bill plays it perfectly.
• Segment 1 works for me, entirely because of Servo, hand over mouth, going “Ohh!”
• It’s amusing (to me, at least) that beer afficianado Mike is drinking Coors. Maybe he thinks it’s only good for pouring onto bicycle seats?
• Host segment callback: “I didn’t mean to turn you on.”
• This print is chopped to shreds, so much so that it actually starts creating riff material, such as when Buz bilocates into a scene. “I’m back!”
• As a longtime fan of lileks.com, he’s taught me to notice when a movie suddenly becomes an unintentional documentary, as this one does when our trio arrives in 1967 L.A. and they drive around seeing the nighttime sights. I don’t know L.A. well, but I bet folks who do find it fascinating.
• I particularly like Servo’s lyrics about L.A. of that era: “Charles Manson is walkin’ the streets…”
• Speaking of that scene, I’m a collector of weird Christmas songs, and this movie has one: Larry Cartell’s “I’m a Lonely Cowboy Santa.”
• This is another movie that shows a night club with a GIANT space for the floor show. I assure you, real night clubs jammed every table onto the floor they could manage.
• You know that guy who plays Leo? He was married to Judy Garland for two years. I am not kidding.
• I do not want to know what sort of moneymaker Crow is shaking in segment 2.
• I really enjoy Crow’s exuberant dancing in the theater. Note that his arms move a bit!
• The musician who talks to Critter is Chris Howard, the composer of most of the songs in the movie. He seems embarrassed and he should be.
• Segment 3, with Mike singing “Oh, I Am Sad” (music by Mike, lyrics by Paul) as the ship catches fire, is hilarious. And by the way it’s only the first of several fires on the ship this season.
• Whoa! Slam on Lea Thompson outta nowhere!
• There’s a nice moment in the theater when Joanie yells “Get out!” and Crow promptly gets up and leaves.
• The bit in the theater where Mike produces a pool cue and begins playing pool is cute and kinda Joel-esque. Then he says he’s been saving the sight gag eight years. Hmm. Comments like that used to make the a certain faction of this show’s viewers very upset.
• Cast and crew roundup: Director Ted Mikels was also cinematographer for 1967’s “Catalina Caper.” (Makes sense, right?) Sound guy Sam Kopetsky also worked on “Eegah.” (Also follows.) In front of the camera: Jody Daniels was also in “Attack of the the Eye Creatures.”
• CreditsWatch: Directed by Kevin. Intern Nick Prueher returns for one more episode. Additional photography (whatever that means): Kevin Galligan. Prop assistant: Julia Pratt (in just this one episode–either she didn’t work out or she owned a very special prop).
• Fave riff: “Honey! Way to play the harmonica with your ass!” Honorable mention: “Suddenly I like the Allman Brothers!”
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Buz suddenly appearing in the scene gets me every time. Something like, “C’mon guys, I just materialized out of thin air”. Hilarious.
“Keep your silver bra filled with breast!” This is actually one of my favorite episodes. I found the riffing to be constantly spot-on throughout. Having watched this episode for several years, I’ve actually come to love the music by the band in the movie. Does anyone know where I can find it to buy or download? I’ve had absolutely no luck!
not my favorite ep. but it’s not the fault of M&TB, it’s just a painful movie to watch. unlike most others i have to psyche myself up for this one. but given what they have to work with, the guys did the best they could and are appreciated for it.
This was one of the episodes that I absolutely hated when I first saw it, but then later learned to love!
Some of my favs:
– “Ah, the nights we spent lingering over brandy at Eat”
– “Whadd’ya mean “daddy please””
– The whole song at the end, especially the “you dance like a clown” part.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this on DVD. One of my all time favorites.
“Charles Manson is walking the streets
The Zodiac Killer’s at large
Charles Bukowski is puking out the window
and Santa Claus is on his way!”
The intro is a little weak but at least it gets a Wesley Willis reference out of it. After that everything about the opening segment is 100% awesome. M&tB’s confusion over Pearl’s change in personality, Pearl’s purposely horrible line read over the PA, the silly idea of needing to be accredited in order to take over the world, Bobo’s request for more torture, Brain Guy’s hump… EVERYTHING!
Every other host segment is rocking as well. Mike’s song steals it all for me, the lyrics are silly enough but Crow’s chiming in about the fire progressively is ridiculously funny. It’s one of those bits that makes me laugh just thinking about it. And the closing with Brain Guy is funny but horribly, horribly disturbing.
The movie is pleasantly strange and reminiscent of a Season 3 choice. It’s also one of those movies that would be better with a little more work done.
Fav Riffs:
Crow: What happens when you touch gold?
Mike: I’m an icky elf.
I had a lot of the same thoughts as Sampo on this one, but I think I ended up liking it a bit more than he did. I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for the movies that are absolute train wrecks, as this one most undeniably is.
Along with Sampo’s note of the women in strip clubs, most of the crowd at Leo’s party looks like they just moseyed in after finishing their a PTA meeting. The fact that anyone could enjoy bongo playing is as strong an anti-drug message as I can fathom.
Segment one is really all about Servo in the babushka. Segment two is probably my favorite though as it just seemed a good concept to never see Crow apart from his legs (and gold undergarments).
I swear Paul is using a rubber cane along with his mad scientist get up.
If there is ever a discussion thread on worst scheme in a MSTed movie, breaking into prison and killing an old guy after he’s clearly established your presence there (with name!) has to be up there. Way to go Buz! Maybe this what became of Buzz from the Mr. B Natural short.
It’s amazing what passed for dancing. Yes, I recognize that strippers are generally not held to a high artistic standard, but this is largely just flailing.
The band in this movie is not so awful, but that may just be in comparison to everything going on around them. My wife thought Jody Daniel had a very nice singing voice as well.
“Way to play harmonica with your ass!” –a tad crude, but the riff I always remember from this episode. Actually, it comes on the heels of “Do the giant toddler dance!” which is another favorite of mine.
My other favorite from this one (which Mike used in several episodes): “You are a delight!”
This is one of the few episodes that got censored by the Channel just before airing. I was laughing at how much extra (and slowed-down)footage of the bongo players we saw on the Sci-Fi (Or was that Sci-Fi 2.0? or Sy-Fy? who is runnig that place!?!)
That scene had a “Laugh-in” party feel, didn’t it?
Thank you Bobby 23, let’s have it one more time !
Charlie Manson is walking the streets
The Zodiac Killer’s at large
Charles Bukowski is pukin’ out the window
And Santa Clause is on his way
Let us not forget that this is indeed a family themed holiday film, that generation’s It’s A Wonderful Life, mashed up with Jules & Jim meets Natural Born Killers.
I really like this episode. It hits all the high points.
Host segments:. Overall I think the hosts are solid and enjoyable, but it might be hard for me to be fair because I love the movie so much. And anytime they dress a character up like London After Midnight / Monty Python undertaker.. it’s good for me
The ‘it’s madness’ shot on the SOL ( at Pearl’s request ) is a favorite little micro-bit of mine ( mike hanging himself, tom has lost his head, crows eyes turned back in his head ).
The subject film has such a great set of characters. The plot is actually kind of reasonable, almost an archetype really. The writing is lame but not the worst by far. And the people that made it do seem to have some vague idea of how to make a movie. But the characters. Wow.
Drunk Abusive Dad
Stripper Wannabee
Small Town Thug
Peace Corps Hippie
Biker Thug 1 & 2
Tough Old Broad that runs the 7-11
Big Town Oily Thug
Big Town Oily Thug’s Even Oilier Assistant
Stripper Junkie
And of course, Harry Blatz Poet, Safe Cracker, Management Consultant and Bon Vivant.
So much to work with, I’ve watched this SO many times… favorite riff ? maybe the The Count ! One heh heh heh, Two heh heh heh.
I give this one 5 big stars on the Hollywood walk of fame.
Oh don’t forget Cowboy Santa !
h-ttp://cgi.ebay.com/LARRY-CARTELL-Rare-1967-Promo-Poster-Ad-COWBOY-SANTA-/350346458599
Mike: Oh I’m sorry, I’m projecting my dreams again…
As a big fan of the 1960’s counter-culture/psychedelic/youth-sploitation genre, this episode was a revelation. I’m so glad MST did this movie during the Mike-era rather than Joel’s: it might have been too polite/faux-naïve otherwise. And I doubt Trace’s Crow would have danced with as much “gusto” as Bill’s does here in one hilariously disturbing host segment.
GIGB is basically a Vietnam-era update of the Beatniks/Daddy-O formula: good-looking, youthful lead with showbiz aspirations becomes ensnared in the seamy underside of Hollywood. The go-go bar setting is reminiscent of Something Weird Video favorites like Mantis In Lace, though without all the psychosis and nudity. The backstage drama has hints of Showgirls and A Star is Born (which is creepy as club-owner Leo/Mark Herron was married to a fading Judy Garland in the late 60’s). By the end, Critter proves himself a real hero, Michele is a resilient heroine, and Buzz remains, well, “an icky elf.”
Love the music, the mood, and most of all, the riffing. Some great host segments take this one over the top. Probably my favorite episode of the show EVER. 5 Stars.
………
Note: I’ve read something about Sci-Fi editing the joint smoking scene, though it’s present in Rhino’s DVD. My DAP copy does not have this edit either.
Quoted from Mighty Jack’s Forum:
“It seems the Sci Fi network didn’t want to show Michele smoking a joint at the party. So they showed slowed down footage of the bongo players instead, and put the voiceover riffs on top of that. Rhino’s version shows Michele smoking the hippy lettuce – not the bongo players – so the riffs actually make more sense.”
………
Also, TMI has a list of references ……… http://doctorwhochronology.com/mst3ktmi/tmi1002.htm
………
Servo: Why do people even go to movies that don’t feature underwear?
Crow: I don’t know.
Wow! #10 hit my thoughts spot on. Almost every gag in the host sketches would have been unthinkable in the Joel era. (Remember, I love both hosts equally in the theater, but I’m a much bigger fan of sketches from the second half of the show’s run.) Could you imagine Joel “hanging himself”? MST3K never strayed into “not safe for kids” territory, but at least in later seasons it rarely took on the feeling of a kids’ Saturday morning local TV show.
This one also has risen in the ranks of episodes. The first time I saw it (through DAP), I hated it. Now that I have the DVD and have watched it 2-3 times, I see it as a “significantly better than average” episode, but not one of my favorites. The stinger, however, is one of the best!
Now, with thoughts of the “giant toddler dance,” and “silver bras filled with breasts,” I’m off to take my oral prelims! Hopefully my doctoral committee doesn’t notice that I’m distracted. :grin:
The boxed set this DVD came in (IV, I think?) was one of the first I purchased right before I moved out on my own. This episode is one of like 6 or 8 that kept me company in my too-big, mostly empty, first apartment. I love all the jokes about Buzz being so young (“Jeez, he’s just a kid; be careful up there!”) and the party taking place in separate dimensions. The opening scene at EAT is great, too– *smack* “Hey, they have tacos!”
“Yes, my plan is perfect: I’ve been spotted by several people, and I killed a guy.”
Fun fact: Not long ago I picked up a copy of the most recent Nuggets box set, “Where the Action Is” which is a good resource for those who are fans of the music in the movie. It has a booklet full of photos of the bands and venues, including a poster for The Haunted House! Don’t you wish it still existed?
Also, more movies should have random strangers with dune buggies.
Somehow I stopped short of my favoritest riff of all:
Mike: Which of these two is worse at their chosen art form?
Very unpleassant movie, but the host segments are fine. It was nice to a rare occasion where Mike gets the better of the ‘bots (liked his half-hearted protests when pouring the beer) and the “I Am Sad” segment was great.
And I’d have been disappointed if they’d not used a “bitter dregs” riff during Critter’s “I am sad” song.
I really fo enjoy this episode. The whole thing is a mess, but a fun one. I’m no expert on cinema, but Girl in Gold Boots seems to employ a frequent B-movie trope: two movies in one. The plot strays so dang far from the halcyon days of road trips and EAT, with little to no rationale. The ol’ put-several-plots-in-a-blender trick. Works every time.
One last thing — (ostensible) sex with Michele made Critter a gung-ho Vietnam supporter? The hell?
Love this episode.
Love. This. Episode.
Crow’s “dance” and Mike’s Sad Song are some of the best bits in the show’s run (though the timing of Crow’s ‘appearances’ during Mike’s song seem strangely off). And the movie! Could they really not find a single decent go-go dancer in all of L.A.? There was so much potent riffing fodder in this movie and the Brains rose to the challenge magnificently. Maybe they felt liberated after 2+ seasons of nothing but science fiction movies?
Everyone in this movie is annoying, vile, or both. “Young” Buzz, his shiny shiny sister, her greasy boss, clueless Michelle, Vermin — er, I mean Critter — horrible characters all.
And by the way, the abrupt jump cut to the dune buggy scene? It’s the exact same in the uncut movie — just as pointless and unexplained.
and special thanks to ‘Eat’
One of the better episodes post Joel and post Comedy Central. Really funny stuff. Season Ten really seemed to get some of the old steam back on the cleverness of the jokes and host segments and this was a pretty strong episode, especially for a tenth and final season. The host segment where Mike sings while the ship is burning is great.
Okay, this episode has one of my favorite laugh out loud moments and I’m a little hazy on the wording so if anyone else remembers it they can help me out.
The girls and dancing and singing on stage when Mike says something along these lines in his song voice…
“…and we don’t want to discriminate other colored boots, woooo!”
Classic.
klisch —
Yes, and I also love the line about “investment metal boots.”
“this movie presents us with the idea that women frequent strip clubs. The audience is half women. I assure you this has never happened.”
=========================
Hmm. Sampo seems to have an exhaustive knowledge of the clientele of
strip clubs. Let’s hope he’s borrowed that kid Buzz’s teleport
technology to beam in and out of them quickly.
Btw, how would Crow’s strip show compare to recent in the news
fake lesbian bondage club shows? Just sayin’.
TRIVIA: Paul asked about the “Haunted House.” Judging from the locale and the “Harris and Frank,” it apparently used to exist on Hollywood Boulevard only half a block west of Vine! In fact, it’s Vine Street that they’re making the left turn from. So, no, it’s not still around. Hollywood and Vine has become something of a dump since then, and I’ve been in that area many, many times and would have recognized a “Haunted House.”
As a longtime fan of lileks.com, I always enjoy when a movie becomes an unintentional documentary, as this one does when our trio arrives in L.A. I don’t know L.A. well, but I bet folks who do find it fascinating.
And count me in on that group, though the only OTHER landmark I know is the Cinerama on Sunset Boulevard (which is still there).
Missed opportunity for a callback to “the Bongo Players Union.”
>>>Critter a gung-ho Vietnam supporter? The hell?
I’m sure that, from the perspective of the times, that was supposed to be Critter “getting his act together” and “doing the right thing.” Or something like that.
“Well, we’d better go home now, Mom…”
Favorite joke: “Well we’re not going to have fun now!”
I really like this episode. It’s loaded with relentless misery and some of the most depressing characters from any MST3K experiment.
This is a great episode. I don’t how else to say it. It is a Top 10 for the Sci Fi era for me. It’s funny; it moves; good host segments; good riffing; almost no dead time. I cannot think of anything really wrong with the episode; there’s plenty wrong with the movie, but when isn’t there on MST3K?
Oh, I should probably also note that “MIke Nelson” the character would almost certainly drink cheap beer – 99% of us Wisconsinites do!
Brain Guy dancing for the mad scientist at the end of the show is perhaps one of the most singularly hilarious yet disturbing bits I have seen come out of MST3K. For tat reason alone this episode is memorable for me.
“Everything I touch turns to flies.”
For me, this is one of my favorites. Great combination of goofy, bizarre movie and fun riffing.
Is it just me, or does the main character look a little like Angelina Jolie?
It took me several viewings to realize that Icky Elf planned to rob Eat at the very beginning.
There are a bunch of scenes where it looks like the Angelina Jolie actress is trying not to burst out laughing. I’m not sure if that was really happening, or it’s just something in her acting technique. Look at the scenes: “Not good enough to be your father”, “I’m here to be a dancer!”, “pretty mind back”…
I love the bad editting/cuts: kissing his Budweiser, teleporting, dune buggy, “there goes…[snip]”, bikini bottom turn around, my hair fell down, come to my dimension…
The Get Smart music is everywhere once they point it out…
“Merry Christmas, everyone! Let’s go to the Haunted House!”
I watched this episode a few weeks after 9/11. The Mike “Taliban” Nelson joke suddenly took on a much creepier feel.
“Cheap, crabby idiot needed immediately.”
Just like Tommy Wiseau’s The Room a major character shaves his beard for no reason…
The main lady is not blond. Gotta be a first for a ’60s movie of a sweet innocent girl looking for fame but getting caught up in danger.
“Brought to you by the Gregory Method.” Can anyone explain how dancing girls relates to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_Single_Transferable_Votes#Gregory_method (or is the joke simply that it doesn’t relate?)
Arafat in the ’60s.
The line “I’m much bigger than that!” “I’m Adolph Hitler!” never fails to crack me up. I think it’s the extremely earnest way that Critter delivers the line.
“I can’t go out with you because I’m considerably bigger than you.”
During the Harry Blatz introduction, the main gangster says about Icky Elf that he “blew in last night from back East.” Last night? So the main action of the film took place in one night/day…?!?!?! He got into drug dealing, Critter shaved his beard and got a job, Angelina Jolie auditioned and spend at least two nights dancing (one on the line, and one as the star) in a single day/night?
Unlike most MST3k movies, there is actually new stuff introduced in the last movie segment (Harry Blatz, the prison robbery)… I think this is why this is one of my favorites… The movie, while misguided, is lively and never lets down…
Why does Harry Blatz need the drug dealer’s help? All he has to do is take the stuff and them jump out the way that the “kid” jumped in…
“I reproduced asexually while I was out, sir.” How did the script-writer think that was going to work.
Mike’s “I am Sad” song sketch is fantastic…
About the sight-gag. My memory at the time was that there was a lot of speculation that Sci-Fi was not going to renew the series after season 10. The impression I got was the “Oh, not long… You know… Eight years…” was a reference to them clearing out jokes that they’d been holding on to and trying to fit in for a long time. However, my memory may be completely wrong on that.
“Can he pony?” Okay, I checked urbandictionary and still have no idea what that means. Do I want to know the answer?
Johnny Ryde says:
“Can he pony?” Okay, I checked urbandictionary and still have no idea what that means. Do I want to know the answer?
The pony was a 1960s dance.
I don’t think it’s anything more perverted than that!
@Gummo, #31: Thank God for that! (Thanks!)
(I wish I could edit posts to add content instead of adding new posts…)
I learned something new today… How to do the Pony: http://sparberfans.blogspot.com/2008/02/fad-dance-pony.html
I had to get a goodbye slap from dad. Do the wild turkey. i always laugh when crow leaves the theater when she yells get out.
The guy who played critter is also in The attack of the the eye creatures. He has a small scene sitting the restaurant early in the film.
A great episode,one of the things the sci fi years could really do is pivot from the black and white 50s confections to these exploitation cheapies without missing a beat.
One thing I don’t get are people who if they don’t like the film,downgrade their appreciation of the mst effort,I mean,if the movie were good,why riff it?
This is one of my favorites, and I think “Way to play harmonica with your ass!” is my all-time favorite riff. I love the way it makes perfect sense, in a twisted way, of Michelle’s spastic dancing and the harmonica on the soundtrack.
I lived in L.A. for ten years, and I used to come north on Vine as they were in the movie, at least once a week, only I’d go past Hollywood Blvd. instead of turning, as they did to reach the Haunted House. (Sho it turns out shis doesn’t shwing at a place on Shunshet.) During the “arrival in L.A.” montage, they’re constantly changing direction between westward and eastward on Sunset.
When Mike says he’s been saving the pool cue gag for eight years, he may be referring to “The Side Hackers,” which, as it turns out, was exactly eight seasons earlier (202). There’s a pool table scene in that movie. With the less sophisticated Shadowramma they used then, a pool cue was probably too thin to register as a silhouette. (The cross-pieces of Crow’s net were invisible in that period, for instance.)
The 45 year old kid riffs, the wandering plot, the wood paneling and the horrible acting, oh vey. What a horrible movie. The riffing was good along with the host segments (though Brain Guy at the end *evil*).
I didn’t know this episode had a Zodiac Killer reference.
Before anyone (after Sampo) asks how Mike could be saving that pool stick joke for “8 years”, don’t forget, they were pure energy for 500 years.
Regarding the line about women and strip clubs- in fact, my present GF loves to go to strip clubs. We have been to at least two in the area in the last year. When the strippers are on break, they usually come over to our table- we’re a curiousity, after all.
Happy Birthday Ted Mikels. I’ve seen Girl in Gold Boots and Astro Zombies. 2 for 2 on being some of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.
Great episode,solid riffing and all the host segments are funny. Mike’s song is a classic and I have to say Bill is a better dancer than anyone in the movie. I also love his reaction to Pearl wanting to give him a “hump”.
Now I have to go. Someone around here must have a dune buggy.
Funny episode but no real fantasy element so I don’t watch it very often. Might have to give it a spin now, though.
This was my #1 favorite episode until I saw “Werewolf” on DVD.
I second (third, etc.) those whose favorite riff is:
Movie: “Girl, keep your gold boots moving…”
Mike: “Or your silver ones, we don’t mean to discriminate against other-colored boots, WOO!”
I have one friend who loves it as much as I do, and I can drop it in the middle of any conversation for a great laugh. (But then, most favorite riffs are good for that anyway.)
A very solid episode that I enjoyed very much. Comment @9 sums up very well most of what I liked about it.
Wow, what a bunch of greasy bad guys, literally. Leo and his look alike aide remind me what the Super Mario Brothers would look like if they were “made” men!
One of my faves, I must admit. The Haunted House was a real Go Go joint on Hollywood Boulevard back in the day and featured GO GO dancers regularly. It was not a strip club however. “So you’ve graduated from YakBoy to MopBoy…”
My favorite scene of this movie is in Joanie’s dressing room toward the end. Joanie’s “pretty mind” whine is perfect stinger fodder, and her shrieking for everyone to get out is so over the top. I loved Crow getting up in response. “Man, even the sex and drug industry has a seamier side!”
This ep definitely had more adult riffs, but they fit in nicely with the movie itself, weren’t too obvious (the Onan Council or Gregory Method references, for example, were what the Brains always talk about with regard to their humor – adult riffs that are likely to pass right over kids’ heads).
I too enjoyed the host segments, and in particular liked the interaction between Pearl and Paul’s Mad Scientist Accreditor. Pearl’s whining at the end was very funny all on its own – and then to have Observer dancing as well….wow!
Interesting thoughts here from other posters about how much of the material would have been different if Joel rather than Mike had been the host. I suspect you’re right, at least about the sequence with Mike pretending to hang himself.
Fave riff: “Ah, here we are at Drink, Boink and Regret.”
I went to graduate school in London about 10 years ago and everyday on my way to class I walked by a little convenient type store that was on the same block. The sign in front of it simply said “Eat” and the first time I saw it I couldn’t help but laugh right there on the street.
Girl in Gold Boots is one of my faves and seeing that store everyday always cracked me up and I even took a picture of it one day b/c it was just so dang funny.
Thanks Emily (#42) that’s the line I was thinking about. Ah, good times.
“Good but not great”? Wow. This is undeniably a top-five episode for me, right next to Space Mutiny. Sure, the movie’s a coke-addled, grimy, sticky clot of irredeemable barely-characters doing dumb things for no reason… but it’s got a real Ed Wood earnestness that makes it endearing, lively, and perfect riffing fodder. Much like Angel’s Revenge, only without guest stars.
And the Brains knock it out of the park in this one, with some of the liveliest banter yet. “Harmonica with your ASS!” is always a laugh-getter (Servo’s delivery is priceless), especially when you notice how Mike reacts to the line. Speaking of, and I’m a little surprised it wasn’t mentioned yet, but Mike’s “Nyooo!” at Leo and Buzz’s weirdass “just got punched” faces is always hilarious.
And yeah… I can’t see this working as a Joel episode so much. Trying to hide the sleaze and filth of the movie like they tended to do in mid-Joel era just… wouldn’t work. However, with the less “dad and kids” feel of Mike era, they very effectively neuter the sleaze and filth through mockery and general ridiculousness.
I love, love, LOVE the entire Pearl-gets-reviewed bit. Her read of the movie announcement, complete with script-read stilted “mad scientist laughter” and ending the statement with a questioning tone as if to say “was that okay?” is wonderfully done. I love how casual Pearl can be in her cruelty under normal circumstances, but how stilted and lame she gets when someone’s watching the ridiculous experiment.
Also… “I Am Sad” is funny on its own thanks to the banality of the lyrics. I don’t know what inspired them to add the “ship catches on fire” aspect to the skit, but I’m glad they did because it sends the whole thing into a delightfully surreal area that’s relentlessly funny.
Sometime I’d like to go on a road trip where I just stopped and ate at anyplace called Eat.
This movie is really one of my favorites. Sleazy, greazy and pointless. I can’t even imagine who Ted V. Mikels’ target audience was supposed to be. Dune buggy enthusiasts that love a good go-go dance, jail break, and Vietnam draft dodger-turn around message?
One riff that hasn’t been mentioned is when Michelle’s dad slaps her. “Hey, they’ve got tacos!” as Buzz looks to the kitchen. Is this the only time that someone hit a woman on-screen and the SOL crew didn’t just holler “Boo!” Not that I’m a woman hater or anything, but I do find it pretty funny.
Not a favorite, actually this one ranks just above “Hamlet” for me. I hate to admit it, but when I first watched this episode when it aired, I kept waiting for the horror/sci-fi/fantasy element to rear it’s head…actually the anticipation of the horror/sci-fi/element created such a distraction I lost focus on the riffs and kept trying to watch the film.