spaf@gatech.UUCP (08/29/83)
The Friends of Entropy went to see the Bob and Doug McKenzie movie
"Strange Brew" today. Bob and Doug (late of SCTV) were in their best
form in this movie. Very entropic and very, very funny in spots.
It was not entirely consistent, and the plot certainly did have some
gaping holes, but we got a lot of laughs out of it. Our ratings
ranged from $.50 to $4, but the majority rating was $2. Thus, we felt
it was a movie worth recommending, especially for an afternoon show.
The movie deals with our heros getting involved in bizarre happenings
at a brewery where they have gone to con some beer. Virtually every
cliche in suspense movies is parodied in some spot or another, and
takeoffs on recent movies like Star Wars, Poltergeist, and Superman
all abound. The characters all seem very aware that they are in
a movie, and many of the sight gags and jokes were done with the
self-reference in mind.
Possibly the funniest part in the movie is the very beginning where
they corrupt the MGM lion logo with a mangy, doped-out lion. The
movie goes on from there, possibly in a downhill direction if you
don't like their material. We found it pretty funny, but we're
hoseheads anyhow. So, don your tukes, take some back bacon, and
go on down to the cinema and catch the flick.
Ps. Max von Sydow looked ill in his part, as if he'd lost a lot
of weight and his dentures no longer fit correctly. Is he on
chemotherapy or something?
Pps. IS that Bolt Castle in the movie?
--
The padded cell of Gene Spafford
CSNet: Spaf @ GATech ARPA: Spaf.GATech @ UDel-Relay
uucp: ...!{sb1,allegra,ut-ngp}!gatech!spaf ...!duke!mcnc!msdc!gatech!spafgrw@fortune.UUCP (Glenn Wichman) (08/31/83)
The "McKenzie Brothers" exhibit in this movie the strange
art once monopolized by Mel Brooks: Making movies which combine
"Low-brow" and "High-Brow" humor. Mel Brooks had movies, in my
opinion, which appealed to "intellectuals", and threw in some
burping jokes to satisfy "non-intellectuals".
Strange Brew comes at it from the other side. It definitely
bills itself as "Low-Brow" humor -- Three Stooges style physical
comedy and lots of gags about bodily functions -- but then it
keeps cropping up with subtle & very sophisticated jokes. If
you see Strange Brew, and you know Hamlet real well, you will see
what I mean.
Also, the movie has a \real/ plot. Aside from the sillyness,
there is actual intrigue, suspense, etc.
In case you haven't gathered by now, I liked the movie, and
I definitely recommend it. (I also get off on the Canadian scenery,
I admit it.)
P.s. I paid $5.00 for the film, and didn't mind.
-Glenn R. Wichman