Tim Burton’s adaptation of the comedy eighties icon is still a film that’s an acquired taste all things considered. Pee Wee begins as a slightly grating presence, but his enthusiasm eventually wins you over. Even to this day easing in to “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” is a fun and unique fantasy film with Pee Wee Herman managing to entertain with his charismatic presence, unusual voice, and still excellent dance sequence to “Tequila” in a biker bar. I remember just about every kid in the late eighties would at one point imitate Pee Wee’s dance on the pool table.
Tag Archives: Musical
Once Bitten (1985)
It’s often completely ignored or dismissed in the annals of Jim Carrey’s film career, but “Once Bitten” is one of my favorite of the Carrey comedy works. It’s not a masterpiece by any means, but it’s one of Carrey’s most restrained roles, where he’s funny without being over the top or rubbery as he was in his more successful films. “Once Bitten” is that eighties guilty pleasure I go back to again and again for a good chuckle. And to ponder the idea of being seduced by a vampiric Lauren Hutton. Either way, it’s all good.
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
I really enjoy what director Frank Oz does with “Little Shop of Horrors.” Rather than simply ignoring the cheesiness and camp value of the original, he embraces it. He also injects a pulpy comic book atmosphere, along with sixties pop and soul that compliments the tale perfectly. While I’ve always had a weak spot for Roger Corman’s original, Frank Oz succeeds in giving “Little Shop of Horrors” the campy adaptation that it deserves with a brilliant cast, and great tunes. This is a movie that always played on local TV as a kid and I always ignored it for reasons I don’t quite remember. In either case it’s no masterpiece, but it’s a fine and fun horror comedy.
Star Rick Moranis plays Seymour Krelborn, the workaday loser in the slums of his city who works at a flower shop. After fawning over his co-worker Audrey, he decides to take some initiative after financial concerns from his boss and brings in a rare flower. The flower was hit by lightning during a solar eclipse, and Seymour immediately buys it for the sake of the novelty. After pricking his finger, he realizes the plant is alive and hungry for human blood. Soon enough the need for blood transforms in to hunger for human meat, and Seymour must either feed the plant, or lose it and his fame. Nicknamed Audrey II, the vicious plant that turns in to a villain for Seymour, is a wonderful monster. The puppetry matched with Levi Stubbs’ performance make it a menacing foe that is so much more dangerous than it initially looks. Moranis plays Seymour as a mentally unbalanced but very desperate loner who is in love with Audrey and finds she is incapable of being with anyone but her abusive boyfriend.
Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello pretty much steals the film for the screen time he’s given as an over the top biker who works as a dentist for the thrill of torturing patients. Martin is hysterical in the role of the heel, and he even shares a hilarious scene with Bill Murray as the masochistic patient anxious to be tortured. Along with Murray and Martin, there are some great cameos by John Candy, Jim Belushi, and Christopher Guest, all of whom lend a high comedy pedigree to Moranis’ already charming performance. Keeping the film ironic and somewhat meta is the excellent musical numbers, all of which serve as a means of forwarding the narrative, and occasionally challenging the motives of Seymour and his man eating plant. The trio of Tichina Arnold, Tisha Campbell and Michelle Weeks are impressive, delivering some excellent musical numbers of their own, including the opening title track. “Little Shop of Horrors” is a pulp pop twist on the original Roger Corman horror comedy that’s funny, fun, catchy, and well worth its reputation.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
I understand why Roald Dahl hates “Willy Wonka.” Surely, it’s nothing like his original novel, and I get why fans would hate that it strays so immensely from the source material (i.e. World War Z) but that doesn’t mean “Willy Wonka” isn’t a good movie. In fact, it’s pretty damn excellent, and manages to evoke a sense of whimsy and menace that’s invigorating and refreshing for a kid’s film. Everything Tim Burton tried so hard to do, director Mel Stuart and Gene Wilder pull off without even trying very hard. With a single gleam of his eye, Wilder pulls off more hints at a devious personality than all Johnny Depp’s white make up, and bad wigs combined.
The T.A.M.I. Show: Collector’s Edition (DVD)
Getting 1964’s “The T.A.M.I. Show” finally on a Collector’s Edition DVD fully restored for the rock fans is a special occasion. If only because “The T.A.M.I. Show” has long been a concert film that has been seen mainly through bootlegs and was sabotaged for a long time. Even film buff Quentin Tarantino never had a complete bootleg, and finally the entirety of “The T.A.M.I. Show” is on DVD from Shout! with nary a single dull moment to be had. What’s so fun about “The T.A.M.I. Show” is that it’s just an unabashed celebration of diversity in rock and roll, and how various artists have shaped it in to something incredible.
Hercules (1997)
Watching “Hercules,” feels almost like what Disney would have done to Superman if DC ever let them turn the character in to an animated feature film. It has all the hallmarks of the Superman mythos. Not to mention it embraces the classic hero’s journey, and is one of the few Disney features based around mythology rather than an age old story. Disney could very well have approached the tale of a young God in training with an animation style that could have rendered the film bland and forgettable. Instead, “Hercules” is one of their more unique and outside the box animated adaptations.
Tarzan (1999)
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ titular Tarzan has gone through a ton of botched adaptations over the last few decades. Speaking as a fan of the character and story arc, Disney’s “Tarzan” is probably my favorite adaptation of all time. Surely, it suffers from Disney tropes that make it very much a Disney movie, but damn it, it’s also a heart felt tale about a hero fighting for his unofficial family teeming with excellent performances and a haunting soundtrack. Plus, it garners the classic Disney themes of lost parents and a child being forced to grow up very quickly.