It's that time of year again....time to pay for three guys who want to mock bad movies in front of a few hundred people in Nashville, then expect thousands nationwide to go to movie theaters and see them do it.
It's worked so far, and they're doing it again.
This time, though, Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett have decided to have only two movies rather than three in their annual Kickstarter campaign. There's been some comments in the True Blue Riffcast, which reviews Rifftrax shows every week. It's been pointing out the guys might be more likely to do only two shows a year rather than three mainly due to costs and a process that's more complicated than the Setting Up a Room short.
Anyway, they're going with two shows this year as they did in 2018. It's offering an MST fave and, for the first time, a TV movie.
On June 11th, Rifftrax takes on Hobgoblins, a movie so painful Mike, Servo and Crow tried to sneak out 22 years ago. It's a terrible knockoff of Gremlins, where a guy with a prune-colored car and a frigid girlfriend has to deal with some tiny uncute monsters who escaped from a vault in Hollywood. It was made by Rick Sloane, who also made Blood Theater. Sad, really.
At least it inspired one of the best riffs ever: "It's the 80s. Do a lot of coke and vote for Ronald Reagan"
Then on October 21st, the gang has its first Halloween show in a while, Amityville 4, The Evil Escapes. Believe it or not, this is the "evil". It's an ugly lamp possessed by a demon who apparently wants to hug the unsuspecting to death. This was based on a book, and eventually became a TV movie in 1989 with Jane Wyatt from Father Knows Best and Patty Duke. Expect jokes about old sitcoms in that one.
Just like last year, the goal is 225 thousand dollars. It's certain Rifftrax will hit that goal. (UPDATE: it hit the goal at 10 AM Eastern the day after the campaign began). The real issue is what stretch goals they'll be offering. Last year, fans got mp3 riffs including Street Fighter, the sequel to Jurassic World, and Rise of Skywalker (coming in April). This year, maybe they can finally do The Five Doctors mp3, or make it easier to get a riff on It's a Wonderful Life approved. It would be interesting if they took on Birds of Prey or something like that. As for bonus VODs, that's harder to predict. Maybe Hobgoblins 2, which exists? Really.
When Joel Hodgson announced his farewell tour, also known as the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Great Cheesy Movie Circus tour, he planned to make sure a major part of the country saw him and his retirement from mocking bad movies.
He and his crew arrived at the Pioneer Center in Reno this past Monday, which looks like a UFO, before a near sellout crowd. The crowd was literally an all-ages event, from kids like these:
to those who have been with the show, and their successors, like me.
I was among about 20 people who were there for the meet and greet. The usual questions were told, especially how an episode is made and how it began way back in 1988. I even asked if fans wrote their own scripts to movies that might be riffed. Joel seemed to be surprised someone would mock Serenity (the sci-fi version), but I'm glad I didn't mention how I wrote riffs for the 1992 Buffy movie.
I did tell him I actually had a poster from Catalina Caper, the only "comedy" the show ever riffed.
So, here's me with everyone:
and the sign that was outside the theater:
Joel also seemed to be surprised I saw the "feature presentation", No Retreat, No Surrender, which was a movie that tried to be the Karate Kid, Rocky and maybe The Outsiders at the same time and didn't come close. He apparently didn't know Mike Nelson and Rifftrax pounded that movie in 2015.
However, I also discovered the movie had two different cuts. Rifftrax had the longer, but definitely not better, version by adding how the guy who ran the Seattle dojo was also threatened by the mob. The MST version was shorter and a few scenes were re-arranged, but at least it had one scene that explained how Jason knew Kelly, the love interest who was more like a prop.
The plot is about a kid named Jason who wants to be like Bruce Lee. When some mobsters cripple his dad after he refuses to sell out to them, they move to Seattle for a fresh start. He has a friend in RJ, but fails to impress the karate dojo mainly due to some fat kid who can be described as Andy Richter Jr...and not in a good way.
Suddenly, Jason gets help from the ghost of Bruce Lee. Jason becomes better at martial arts, but no one notices.
This is also the debut of Jean Claude Van Damme, who plays an evil martial arts guy named Ivan. He's the guy who cripples Jason's dad for the mob. Of course, Jason and Ivan have their rematch in the big karate competition that's supposed to help the mob take over Seattle.
You can guess the rest.
The host segments were quite different compared to the previous two live tours. The one familiar thing is Joel in a new version of his red jumpsuit, and he sang the theme himself.
Tom Servo and Crow were there, too, while a new version of Gypsy called GPC was more flexible than the original.
There was also Mega-Synthia (Yvonne Freese), whose origin story is interesting, and a gal named Emily Crenshaw (Emily Marsh) who has a jump suit that suggests her future. She briefly took over for Joel in the third segment, and well, she did play a big part in last year's Turkey Day marathon:
If and when a new version of MST3K is made, it looks like she'll take over along with Mega-Synthia. She'd be fine in a new Satellite of Love.
The host segments had their own take on traditional circus acts, with Crow up to his own tricks. They were pretty good, especially with Joel's decision to use "hidden puppeteers" to help the bots do things they've never done before, It was a trip seeing Crow with legs and on a pogo stick.
You can learn more about the cast here, and this page has very good behind the scenes videos, especially on the puppeteers.
As I said before, MST's riffing on the movie is different from the Rifftrax version because they used two different versions of the movie. So, comparing riffs will be a bit tougher. Joel (and Emily) and the bots packed a lot more riffs than Mike and his guys, but they also seemed a lot fresher. So, time for examples:
JCVD shows up with mobsters:
RT: Ivan the Scotsman MST: Jean Claude Van Mannequin
Jason's dad tries to stand up to them, but his acting is as weak as his resolve:
"I will not join....your organization" RT: That's what I keep telling the CVS Extra Care Rewards Program MST: Boy, if these cheaply painted walls could talk
Scott and his gang try to beat up RJ for no reason because the movie doesn't say why RT: Biggest fast feud brawl since Dave Thomas kicked Arthur Treacher's ass at a Wendy's parking lot. MST: (Scott's too big for RJ to knock down) Nothing moves the Blob
Ghost of Bruce Lee shows up RT: A waiter from a Chinese restaurant MST: HE'S NOT EVEN CLOSE!
Scott's dad serves beer to a fat drunk RT: Darker side of Chris Pratt MST: Treat me right. I'm an influencer for Yelp
Ivan comes back in the big karate battle, and this time he's got an entourage RT: Flanked by the sales team of a Yugoslavian Guess store MST: Los Lobos?
There's also riffs on Pacific Rim, Reno (of course), Joe Don Baker, Game of Thrones, the Oscars (which shows how they retool the show), and the Beverly Hills Cop theme.
At this point of the tour, the crew seems to play this movie more than the other choice, Circus of Horrors. Both movies will be shown in the same area twice in the home stretch in a couple of weeks. If MST comes back, it would be interesting to see their riff on this movie.
Oh, the concession stand in the lobby did some great business, especially t-shirts and MST decals where your laptop can have an MST silhouette. There's even a website where anyone can get swag.
This, however, is not available online:
Good thing the sign has the recipe. That way, anyone close to a BevMo can try their own "Robot Roll Call" while watching the show. At least it's easier to make than a "Killer Shrew". Anyone got ideas on how to make a "StarCrash"or a "Torg-Over"?
The tour continues for another month, with upcoming stops in Colorado, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Texas. Just click mst3klive.com for more info.
The Academy Awards are six days away, and it looks like the results are already settled.
The acting races are all but over. Laura Dern and Brad Pitt will get the supporting nods, although the races should have been closer. Pitt should have had a stronger challenge from Tom Hanks with his Mister Rogers movie, and Dern should have had good rivals like Florence Pugh for Little Women and Scarlett Johannson for Jojo Rabbit.
Joaquin Phoenix will have the last laugh in Best Actor for Joker, while Renee Zellweger will win for Judy in the quickest result since Helen Mirren. The Academy never gave Judy Garland's acting skills the respect they deserved (see Judgement at Nuremberg), and Renee's amazing recreation of the fading star is award-worthy and has been since October.
Parasite is a lock for International Film and Original Screenplay. It should also be Best Picture except Academy voters don't like to reward movies you have to read. Too bad, since it's the complete package: a good story about a poor family who cons their way to a nice gig working for rich folk, nice direction and good acting, too. The father dealing with a boss who doesn't give him more respect is an interesting guy and the con woman/daughter would give Dern a run for her money. The war movie 1917 seems to be the favorite because of its epic war scenes, but showing it in one long take still seems to make it a gimmick. The stock for The Irishman fell steadily once people saw it's just a mob movie with DeNiro and Pacino looking younger via CGI.
If there is one real battle, it's the race for Adapted Screenplay. It's a very competitive list:
So far, Jojo Rabbit has won in the BAFTAs and Writers' Guild Awards, while Little Women won the USC Scripter Award which has been a good predictor on which movies wins in the Oscars.
Either of these movies could win Adapted Screenplay. Let's look at the pros and cons.
Jojo Rabbit, at first glance, would be a surprising choice. A boy in Nazi Germany has Hitler for an imaginary friend, then finds out her mom is hiding Elsa, a Jewish girl, in their house. No one would think that would make a good movie, but Taika Waititi does it. He's wise to emphasize Jojo's relationship with his mom, while wrestling with how his previous "expertise" about Jews is just plain wrong. It doesn't hurt that he's got a crush for the girl, too. It's also interesting the movie is an complete overhaul on Caging Skies, the book the movie's based on. The original is much darker, especially the relationship between Jojo and Elsa.What might scare voters is having Hitler in the movie, although the script gradually shifts him from comforting pal to jealous friend. That takes the focus away from him and to Jojo with his mom and Elsa.
Meanwhile, Greta Gerwig's version of Little Women takes a different angle to previous movie versions. It's the story of how Jo March publishes her new book, Little Women.Yes, Jo is Louisa May Alcott in this movie. The story is told in a different way, with some flashbacks. That's only because she's trying to see the book for publication to Dashwood. That's why she "negotiates" the ending with him. Also, it finally gives some sympathy towards Amy March thanks to her "economic proposition" speech about marriage.
At this point, Jojo Rabbit seems to be the favorite, but Little Women should not be dismissed. A lot of people were upset Gerwig's direction was snubbed by the Academy (and Golden Globes and Directors Guild). It wouldn't be surprising if she got Adapted Screenplay as a consolation prize. There will be some last-minute lobbying based on that, and will give the show some interest from movie fans. My choice of Gerwig, but Waititi would also be good.
Maybe next year, the Oscars can do something that will guarantee more viewers: the courage to have a host, and not be ashamed of who they choose....as long as it's Aubrey Plaza.
