Category: comedy

Cat Scratch Fever (Sleepwalkers, 1992)

Mary and Charles are the mysterious mother and son that have arrived in a local small town.Charles is handsome and charming, while his mother is ethereal and elegant. Quickly, Charles seems interested in local Tanya.

While she thinks his interest in her is romantic, it turns out that his real purpose is far more sinister. Charles and his mother are actually supernatural creatures…shapeshifters known as Sleepwalkers who go back centuries. They survive by feasting on the life force of young virginal women.

Sleepwalkers is an original idea from Stephen King’s mind. It is an interesting general concept. But the mystery quickly is sideline by comedy and gore. Featuring some decent digital morphing, the shapeshifting in the film is an okay effect. The film is never scary, but there are also some good practical effects.

This is more comedy than horror, with the Sleepwalkers having the weakness of being killable by cat scratches. There is a scene where a guy is killed by a corncob. There is a scene with cameos from Tobe Hooper, Clive Barker, John Landis, Joe Dante and Stephen King that is largely a comedy bit (but lacking…ahem, Wes Craven). The Sleepwalkers are given to hackey one liners, especially Charles.

I enjoy the film as a goofy horror film. And it has a really good cast. But my favorite thing is honestly the music. The soundtrack is punctuated by a really haunted theme that features a sad and ominous hum. It also features a terrific use of an older song called Sleepwalk.

Sleepwalkers is not a classic horror film…it is, however, a lot of schlocky fun to gather wisth some friends around the Halloween season for some laughs and fun jumps.

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Once Bitten (Cursed 2005)

For Cursed, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson teamed up to bring us a take on a different type of horror. Rather than slashers, they tackle werewolves. Jimmy and Ellie are brother and sister who witness a car accident one night, when they attempt to help the driver, they are both bitten by a wild animal that mauls the driver.

But as the days pass, the siblings both find they are feeling different. They heal quickly and Jimmy finds himself becoming both a better athlete and more desirable to people. While Ellie is skeptical of Jimmy’s werewolf theory, she becomes convinced as she feels the changes coming on. They then try and determine how to free themselves of the curse. In the grand tradition, they must end the blood line of the werewolf that bit them.

They discover who the werewolf is and then have to fight to end their curse. But there are complications…is the werewolf the one that is killing people?

You know…unlike Scream, this effort from Williamson and Craven lacks any punch. It has some decent twists and fun moments (for example, Jimmy’s dog gets infected and becomes a werewolf dog). But this really feels like an attempt by Craven to make a film in someone else’s style. Lots of fast cuts, rock music driving the soundtrack. I know Scream did something similar, but more effectively. This film has a good core cast, but is also filled with a very early aughts TV cast. You have actors from Dawsons Creek and Smallville. Pop singers.

There are no scares in this werewolf tale and it really collapses under its own reference heavy weight.

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Vampire Swipes Right (Vampire in Brooklyn, 1995)

Vampire In Brooklyn was a meeting of minds. Eddie Murphy was coming off a string of films and sequels that were not failures, but not grand successes. Eddie states he agreed to make the film for the studio for the rights to the Nutty Professor.

Maximillion is the last of a clan of Caribbean vampires who arrives one night in Brooklyn via a large freighter. He is seeking a woman to be his queen, and to help him, turns small time hood Julian into a servant ghoul.

Maximillion is searching for a woman born of a vampire and he discovers police detective Rita ( ridiculously gorgeous Angela Bassett) is the woman he is seeking. As he tries to enter her life, he runs into competition from her partner.

Vampire in Brooklyn really feels like a movie competing with itself. On the one hand, it is a gory vampire flick. On the other hand? It is an Eddie Murphy comedy that has the things you expect, like Eddie in various costumes as side characters. One is an Al Sharpton styled preacher which does result in an amusing scene where he bursts into flame and convinces the congregation to rush outside.

It is not that comedy and horror cannot mix, and honestly it is hard to tell where the conflict lies. I have read accounts that Eddie and the other writers intended this to be a more serious vampire film and it was Craven who altered the tone. Other accounts suggest that Craven pushed for Eddie to play the role more serious and Eddie did his own thing.

The movie is full of terrific performers, and so there are plenty of fun bits. Kadeem Hardison’s Julius finds himself falling apart as his body begins to rot, which results in a lot of funny moments as he freaks out. John Witherspoon is funny. And I think it is the problem…these are all talented performers and creatives…but it often feels like they are all working in totally different movies.

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Shock Therapy (Shocker, 1989)

Shocker, Wes Craven’s follow up to the Serpent and the Rainbow is the entirely opposite animal. The story is that one night high school jock has a nightmare that a serial killer is murdering his family. He awakes and rushes to his family’s house where he is met by his police detective father who informs him their family has been slaughtered by the notorious local serial killer.

Using his dreams, Jonathan and his father ultimately identify and catch TV Repairman Horace Pinker. The evidence is damning and Pinker does not plead innocent, so it is a pretty slam dunk case. On the day of his execution, the guards find he has some elaborate set-up going on in his cell with his TV. While they fear he is killing himself, the audience can see he is performing some sort of ceremony.

Once in the chair, he uses his final words to to reveal that he is Jonathan’s real father. After the electrocution seems to go very wrong, they find Pinker is dead. But it turns out, Pinker’s body may be dead, but his spirit is alive and he can take over bodies.

Pinker and Jonathan begin a game where Jonathan hopes to find a way to stop Pinker’s new rampage, one where he can be anybody.

Where Serpent and the Rainbow was an attempt at a more serious film, and just a one off tale, Shocker feels like a blatant attempt to start a franchise with a new Freddy Krueger in Horace Pinker. But the inspiration is obviously from the late era Freddy. Pinker is a violent psychopath with a one liner for any situation. The dream connection feels like Craven was not even trying to set Pinker apart.

I enjoy a lot of the characters, even though the majority of them are fodder for Pinker to kill in his attempts to destroy Jonathan’s life. But without a doubt, Mitch Pileggi seems to be having a good time in the role.

Shocker gets incredibly goofy, as Horace can jump through TV signals as well as bodies. So when we see him outside of bodies he is transparent and has a static effect applied to him. When a person is possessed, the tell is that they have Pinker’s limp. I am not sure why his spirit would have a limp…but whatever, it is his tell. The goofiness goes off the rails when Jonathan and Pinker are flying in and out of TV shows and TV’s (landing in random living rooms, impacting television shows). And honestly? This is what kind of saves the movie.

While it lacks any nuance or deep themes, Shocker is a ridiculous and fun movie with a rock and roll soundtrack. I am almost a bit sad we never got Shocker’s two through six.

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The Antici-(The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975)

I had never seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show until 2020. Like, I have heard many of the songs. I have seen pictures and heard about the midnight screenings. I am fully aware of Tim Curry’s fame largely being inspired by this role. I know of the film and it’s legend. But I have never, simply sat down and watched it.

And so now I have watched the the legendary film and…uh…

I did not hate it…it has it’s charms. But I don’t know that I loved it.  Maybe this is because the film made its cult status through being an interactive audience experience…and sitting in my living room alone is not the same.

The story feels largely like an inconsequential mess. But there is no denying that when Tim Curry comes on screen, he is just an absolute delight.  Curry is reckless in his enthusiastic performance and I really enjoy every moment he is on screen. This is not to downplay the other performances, as the central characters are all memorable and fun. But Curry has a habit of outshining people in films for me.

I am glad I finally took the time to watch the film for the music and the performances, feeling like I have filled in one of the most beloved midnight films of all time.

 

 
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A Cure for the Summertime Blues? (Summer Rental, 1985)

Summer_Rental_PosterSummer Rental follows the story of Air Traffic Controller Jack Chester who is forced by his boss to take a vacation. He and his family are set up with a beach side rental.  Jack quickly finds himself at odds with the rich and self important locals and strikes up a friendship with bar owner Scully. This friendship leads to the family and Scully entering a boating competition against the biggest rich jerk in town (played with proper arrogance by Richard Crenna).

Summer Rental is a fun film, but largely carried by the charm of John Candy.  He is a well meaning hapless guy here, finding himself bumbling through misadventures. The film’s most memorable running joke is Vicki, a young woman wanting opinions on her breast implants and how uncomfortable it makes Jack and other guys. And the gag does work okay.  While Candy carries the heavy load, it would be unfair to ignore the rest of the cast.  Rip Torn especially is entertaining in the role of Scully, the bar owner, ship captain who may have committed to the pirate captain role a bit too much.

Summer Rental is light but enjoyable fare, edged up a bit by the presence of Candy.

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Fun In the Summertime (Summer School, 1987)

Summer_School_PosterRob Reiner was a prolific funny man.  He gave us decades of laughter and joy before his passing this week.  In his memory, I am taking a look at an under-rated… well not classic…but one of those films of his I don’t hear much about.

Mark Harmon is slacker gym teacher Freddy Shoop is ready to run off to Hawaii for the summer with his girlfriend when he is forced to be the english teacher for the summer for kids who failed their remedial english test. His girlfriend runs off without him, leaving him with a class of goof offs and generally distracted students.

The Vice Principal hates Shoop and holds his tenure and job over his head if the entire class does not pass. This results in Shoop and the class making a bargain.  He helps each of them with one thing they need. And at first this seems to be working, until the kids start getting greedy when Shoop suggests they all put in some more time.

Summer School has a flimsy plot, but Reiner is really trying to entertain more than anything here, and it he uses his skill with comedy tropes to make even the thinnest of ideas work.

This film has an incredibly 80’s cast (certainly, most of them are still active, but this was their hey day).  Probably the most memorable characters are Chainsaw and Dave.  While falling into that stock dumb buddies, they feel very different from characters like Bill and Ted or the later Wayne and Garth.  Horror movie lovers and burgeoning make-up artists there are a couple funny set piece scenes that put their wild imaginations at the center. They also share an infatuation for exchange student Anna-Maria that somehow Reiner manages to keep fairly safe.  They are never in competition over her, they just both have an almost puppy dog devotion to both each other and her.  Yeah, her character is the very stock “Barely Speaks English Hottie”, but the film keeps everything so light that it works pretty well.

This is not a classic like the Jerk, but it is a really fun film and a good diversion on a Sunday afternoon.

 

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Size Reduction (Little, 2019)

Little_PosterAt thirteen, Jordan Sanders is a smart kid who hopes to fit in, but finds life in school to be one of constant humiliation and bullying. Her parents promise her that when she grows up, things will be different, for she is brilliant and those are the people that “become the boss.”

The film jumps to Jordan in her late 30’s. Her life is one where she is in charge.  She is bold, featured in magazines and has a highly successful business.  She also treats people abusively, often using them.  This is especially true of her assistant April.  She has no respect for April’s hopes and dreams or ideas for the business. April is however, also incredibly lacking in confidence, whether it is the desire to advance in her career or get a date…April will try and then back off quickly.

The same day that Jordan is informed by her biggest client he is leaving her for a new company unless she can win him over with a pitch, Jordan pushes around a little girl. The girl tells her she wishes Jordan was little. The next morning, Jordan wakes to find herself in her thirteen year old body.  April makes a deal to pretend to be Jordan’s Aunt and to keep the the pitch moving forward to try and avoid losing their client.

What follows is April and Jordan trying to navigate their sudden change in world, April as the boss and Jordan having to go to school. Jordan tries hard to keep her “I’m the boss” attitude, but quickly finds herself pushed to the margins.  Meanwhile, her employees start to find life under April much more pleasant.

The film is really busy, as they try and cover a lot of ground as Director/writer Tina Gordon and screenwriter Tracy Oliver (of the entertaining and raunchy Girl’s Trip) pack in a lot of plot points with the jokes.  And this kind of interferes with the pacing.  That is not to say it is not funny.  I laughed plenty…and the film actually sidesteps a certain problem that Big did not avoid.  This is largely due to the fact with the reversal, Jordan becoming a thirteen year old, these situational problems are very self evident.  You cannot have adult men being turned on.  Thankfully, the men of the film avoid being sleazy.  When young Jordan shoots a look at her teacher, he is instantly grossed out.  When Jordan’s boy toy (who aspired to be more) mistakes Jordan as the daughter she never told him about, he sets out to convince her that he has the best of intentions for her mom. Some of the dialog gets clunky, but when he tries to give a fatherly hug she forgets her age and he instantly stops her more comfortable snuggle.

The boyfriend storyline seems forgotten at the end though and as the storylines all tie up, we never really seem to know how she explains she never had a daughter.

But the highlights of the movie Little, in my book, are Issa Rae and Marsai Martin. Issa Rae just has never really let me down.  Her comedic delivery is just solid and pretty much always delivers.  Martin has long been one of my favorite actors on Black’ish.  And her years as the darkly mature Diane work here where she channels Regina Hall’s dominance as young Jordan.

Little is not a genre breaking classic.  But for the majority of the film, I had a fine time watching it. Rae and Martin connected well and there are some good laughs in the film.

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Growth Spurt (Big, 1988)

Big_PosterStarting 1984, Hollywood gave us about two Tom Hanks films a year through 1990. Some more memorable than others, but Hanks proved himself a pretty reliable comedy actor. Hanks has always come across as a nice guy in Hollywood and thus endeared himself to the audience.

1988’s Big is the story of thirteen year old Josh.  A shorter kid, after a humiliating night at the Carnival where he is too short to get on a ride with a girl he likes, he stumbles upon the Zoltar Speaks “game”. The machine grants him his wish…to be big.

Josh wakes the next morning to find he is an adult.  His mother reacts poorly and Josh goes on the run. As the story goes on, Josh gets the help of his best friend as they try and relocate Zoltar, only to find out it could take weeks to get the information they need.

This leads to Josh taking a job in data entry at a toy company…but he quickly climbs the ranks when a chance meeting with the head of the company who is impressed with Josh’s understanding of toys.  This is one of the things that makes the film a lot of fun.  Everyone  mistakes Josh’s youthful innocence as brilliance and even a real man.  He finds himself in a growing relationship with co-worker Susan.  His complete naiveté over cut throat business practices and male pissing matches convinces Susan Josh is just mature and above it all.  Initially the relationship is not all that troubling.  She has no reason to think he is thirteen and a thirteen year old in a grown up body…and it is pretty funny when she suggests staying over at his place and this leads to an incredibly wholesome night of playing games and the two sleeping in bunk beds.

I am not sure who thought it was a good idea to actually have the two have sex…it is not Revenge of the Nerds territory…but it is just to close to the line of being gross. This is largely in how they write themselves into a corner when Josh confesses his big secret to her. It then feels a bit like an adult grooming a teen.

I think one of the really nice story points is how Josh becomes pretty enamored with grown-up life.  He starts to ignore the goals of returning to his old life…only realizing that he is missing so much away from his friends and family.

Hanks is the glue that holds this all together.  He is remarkably charming and really sells the “kid” in a grown up body better than almost anyone before or since.

Big is still a pretty charming and fun film thirty some years later.

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Boldly Going Pt 4 (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, 1986)

ST_the_Voyage_Home_PosterPicking up right after the Search for Spock,, the Voyage Home has the crew preparing to return home and face their punishment for  the actions they took to save Spock. But  as they near Earth, they find a strange ship has arrived at the the planet. Causing devastation across the planet from the attempts to communicate, the Enterprise Crew discovers the only way to solve the problem is to locate hump backed whales.  However, the whales went extinct.  This forces the crew to attempt to go back to the 1980’s.

They discover that there is a pair of whales in captivity.  Kirk sets about having the group split up to prepare the spaceship to transport whales back to the future.

Star Trek the Voyage Home is interesting.  On the one hand, it ties back to a popular trope of the series, with time travel. It also returns to the idea of a mysterious and destructive probe threatening the earth. But it has a rather large tonal shift. There are no space battles and the film largely plays out as a fish out of water comedy.

This causes the film to rely heavily on character moments.  We see this mainly in Kirk’s attempts to convince a young scientist to help him with the whales. The Voyage Home really mines a lot of humor from the whole “out of their time” bit. Really, this is such a warm hearted romp, and is sort of outside of any of the other Trek films.  I love how the film never really explains the mysterious probe. It fits in with a point that Spock makes early in the film. It is arrogance to assume that an alien presence seeking to communicate with intelligent life would automatically be trying to communicate with humans. Keeping that a mystery for the audience just as much as the characters in the movie is a stroke of perfection.

As I noted, this is a really unique film in the Star Trek film franchise.  It is a lot of fun, and is a well loved entry in the franchise for good reason.

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