The Film Crew DVDs - Any good?

[trancejeremy]

I was browsing the new releases for this week for Netflix, and came across a movie called "Film Crew: Wild Women of Wongo" in the Comedy section. I put my mouse over it to see what it was, assuming it would be something really really tacky, but was pleased to discovered it's from Mike Nelson and a couple others from MST3K, and seems to be a new line of dvds based on the same premise as MST3k.

Anyone seen any of them? Is it any good? I always liked Mike Nelson a lot more than Joel (who acted like he was on downers all the time). OTOH, it could be like Night Gallery was to the Twilight Zone.

 

[Villano]

I have both Hollywood After Dark and Killers From Space, and they are both a lot of fun. The opening set up is different. Instead of Mike and the Bots forced to watch bad movies, Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy are just blue collar Joes whose job it is to add commentary to "every film that doesn't have one". Also, unlike MST3K, they only do one break in the film (the Lunch Break) in which they do a little sketch. Personally, I think they need more than one break (these films are hard to make it through in one sitting), and, frankly, the Lunch Break sketches just aren't that good.

However, once the films and the riffing start, it's just like old times. You don't get the little silhouettes at the bottom, but, with the same voices, you will completely forget you're not watching MST3K. Honestly, a few times, I thought I saw Mike and the Bots at the bottom of the screen.

Personally, I recommend starting with Killers From Space. The big hook of Hollywood After Dark is that it stars a young Rue McClanahan as a stripper. So, what does a young Rue McClanahan look like? The old Rue McClanahan, unfortunately.

Seriously, Rue McClanahan is the one person you don't want to see taking off her clothes and "dancing".* She looks like Skeletor wearing a Ronald McDonald wig. When she begins her routine, Mike says, "My drunk Aunt at a wedding." At another point, she's behind the curtain of one of those old changing tents on the beach. When she mentions she's naked, someone questions whether that was supposed to titillate or horrify us.

The acting and direction of Hollywood is actually pretty good. The casting and writing is what sinks it. Rue can act, but, dear lord, who thought anyone would want to see her strip?! And the writer thinks he's smarter than he actually is. Plus, he wants desperately to include "hip" dialogue. Cool, daddy-o! Wild, man, wild!

Killers From Space, otoh, is total crap from beginning to end, and, as such, works so much better for this kind of thing, since you can make fun of literally everything.

I'm not sure why they didn't just continue MST3K, since they are doing virtually the same thing. I suppose it's a rights issue. Does Sci-Fi hold the rights?

* And don't worry. There's no nudity in Hollywood After Dark. You won't be scarred for life.

 

[trancejeremy]

Thanks, sounds like they are worth at least a rent. And if any good, maybe a purchase, if it means more of them.

It's actually too late, I am scarred - I saw Donald Sutherland naked in a movie and ever since, I've grown numb to that sort of thing. (I should have taken the title of that movie to heart, "Don't look now")

 

[trancejeremy]

Finally got this (The Women of Wongo movie) and it's great. Well, the movie is terrible, but it really is like MST3k. I can see why they used robots for the other two commenters, though.

And they had the Rue McClanahan scene in the opening trailers for other movies from the company. I see what you meant.