steven@ism70.UUCP (08/22/84)
THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI: ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION
Starring Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin and Jeff
Goldblum.
Also starring Christopher Lloyd, Lewis Smith, Ronald Lacey and
Matt Clark.
Directed by W.D. Richter. Written by Earl Mac Rauch. Produced by
W.D. Richter and Neil Canton.
Photographed by Fred J. Koenekamp. Production Designed by J.
Michael Riva. Edited by Richard Marks and George Graves. Music
by Michael Boddicker.
From Twentieth Century Fox. (1984)
I think it was Richard Corliss who jumped the gun when he called
_G_r_e_m_l_i_n_s the most original movie of 1984. Well, t'aint so.
_B_u_c_k_a_r_o_o_ _B_a_n_z_a_i takes that gold medal at the tape and by a wide
margin. This is _o_n_e psychotronic flick. It contains so much
offhandedly weird things in it that just keeping up with the plot
would probably take a couple extended viewings. Question is, is
it worth it? I think so. This is one good thing that don't come
very easy, but it comes eventually if you'll let down yer dukes
and let the thing slime all over you. Becuase Banzai is one of
the least compromising films to come out of a major studio in
many years, most audiences, even hip ones, yes, will really
have to trust Buckaroo Banzai and let him carry the ball.
Buckaroo Banzai is a superhero who has to help save earth from a
bunch of bad Lectroids who have been stranded here. If he
doesn't, some good Lectroids hanging out in a big conch
shell-looking spaceship will start WW III. That's enough plot, I
think. Plot isn't really a big deal in this film. Not a lot of
what's emphasized is the narrative, but that's okay here because
the dialogue, characterizations and style have been so well
handled.
What's so special about this film is the conception of Buckaroo
Banzai. He steps into this movie full-blown. No explanation, no
justification. He _i_s a famous comic book hero with a band of Blue
Blazer Irregulars following his fictional exploits already. There
is a feeling that the new-wave garbage functional look fits in
with the slightly screwy dialogue ("What's your name?" "Penny."
"Peggy?" "Penny!" "I'm going to sing this song for you now,
Peggy," "PENNY!") that mocks the superhero conventions at times,
and plays straight enough elsewise to let you feel for the
characters.
The whole tone of the movie is weird, but consistent. As I said,
dialogue is great. Inventive, imaginative action sequences.
Starmaking performance by Peter Weller, who lets his presence do
the talking, mostly. John Lithgow, put another Oscar nomination
placard on your wall for your whacked out Dr. Emilio Lizardo.
Credit probably goes to director and co-producer W.D. Richter as
well as writer Earl Mac Rauch for pulling off the difficult job
of maintaining a singular vision of how the story should feel.
The end credits promise a sequel, Buckaroo Banzai Against the
World Crime League. I can hardly wait. Three and a half stars
out of four.