moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (08/17/84)
Well, I have two things to say about this: it's the other movie I will
remember this summer for besides GHOSTBUSTERS, and I wonder if it is going
to catch on at all, because the humor here is nowhere near as broad as most
moviegoers will like it. There are lines in this movie that are as good (to
me) as anything in GHOSTBUSTERS, but a majority of the public
are not going to get 'em. But I'm getting ahead of myself....
The major plot of BUCKAROO BANZAI is summed up by the introduction roll-by:
Banzai is about to test a supersonic jet car that will enter the eighth
dimension (apparently the 5th, 6th and 7th were booked :-) ). Overhead, and
on earth, aliens from Planet 10 are watching his every move...
Uh-huh, you say, sounds like a real winner, Moriarty. OK, this has it's
tongue firmly planted in it's cheek... the old pulps & particularly Doc
Savage are heavily satirized here. But they are also updated; the
skyscraper headquarters has given way to a fortress in rural New Jersey, and
Our Hero is not only an incredible scientist, but a rock musician of some
fame. I kept looking at how Banzai had quite a few of those corny features
Doc always had in the novels... never making fun of someone, always cool,
etc. And it marks the return of the scientist-adventurer teams.
But the amazing thing about this movie is, it is NEVER corny or campy.
It may have tongue firmly planted in cheek, but the detail of the film, the
sets, the acting, are SO RICH as to engross one totally. It never looks
like a hack job; it gave me the impression that while the director and
writer (get to the latter in a minute) were having some fun for the subject,
they also enjoyed pulp adventure... I never felt that the people responsible
had gone, "hey, isn't this stuff all crap!" (in retrospect, I admit I have a
heck of a time getting through pulp fiction nowadays). The actors are the
same way... though the villains are so thoroughly funny as to defy taking
them as threats at all.
Now the writing is perhaps the single most interesting thing; whatever you
can call this movie, it is not unoriginal. The comments are so quick and so
good that I believe I missed at least half of them... I'm going back to see
it again next week just to catch the rest of the lines (many are spoken with
funny accents and are a bit tough to get). I believe I haven't seen
something with as un-cliche dialogue as this one; in fact, they seem to take
delight at placing in something devestatingly funny and different just when
you expect something run-of-the-mill. No BATMAN here, folks.
As to sequels, well, this movie ADVERTISES one at the end. I hope very much
that they carry it through (and with the same cast & production staff).
However, I haven't seen this advertised on TV at all, and I expect that not
so many people will see it... and if no one sees it, no more sequels. I
believe that the studio didn't have much confidence in the film's chances,
and so tried to dump it out with little fanfare -- pfui. So go
see it! Fun performances by a lot of people -- they look like their having
fun (however, in a very controlled way, unlike Burt Reynold's CANNONBALL
casts, who seem to be the only ones having fun). Kudos to John Lithgow (the
only person I know who REALLY looks like The Joker!), Jeff Goldblum,
Christopher Lloyd (I bet he's had his fill of makeup this summer), Ellen
Barkin, and Peter Weller as Banzai.
In conclusion, anyone who liked STRANGE INVADERS (the aliens look somewhat
familiar), REPO MAN, or very funny adventure should see it. I fully admit
it's not for everyone, but for those people it matches up with, it's
amazing. Hope it'll be out on videotape, so I can get all the lines.
"But, I guess I'm just stating the obvious (shutup! shutup!)"
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
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