Overall Rating
  Awesome: 56.25%
Worth A Look: 30%
Average: 13.75%
Pretty Bad: 0%
Total Crap: 0%
4 reviews, 56 user ratings
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| Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie |
by PyThomas
"It's MST-riffic!"
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If you've never seen the wacky and hilarious TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000", then ... well... that's not surprising.The show is one of those rare TV commodities... an innovative, original idea. It just has a very limited audience. Crafted by Minneapolis funnyman Joel Hodgson, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (hereinafter referred to as "MST3K") started out as a UHF-station low-rent midnight movie showcase in 1988, gained a huge cult following during its 1989-96 run on Comedy Central, and moved to the Sci-Fi Channel in 1997. Though the series ceased production in 1999, it can still be seen periodically on Sci-Fi, hopefully for years to come. Despite the low profile on cable channels that aren't carried by half the cable companies out there, MST3K's followers have spawned fan clubs, numerous web sites (including one that was run by yours truly), and high attendance at the show's very own convention, put on by their production company (Best Brains, Inc.) whenever they feel like it.
The premise of MST3K is this... the mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieu) runs an ongoing experiment involving grade-Z movies. Mike Nelson (Michael J. Nelson) is his hapless "guinea pig" forced to watch these movies in the theater room of a spaceship orbiting planet Earth. Mike's only companions are the robots left behind by Joel (Dr. Forrester's first test subject)... Gypsy (voiced by Jim Mallon), the one-eyed purple big mouth; Tom Servo (voice by Kevin Murphy), a walking, talking gumball machine; and Crow T. Robot (voice by Beaulieu), a gold-painted amalgamation of sports equipment and Tupperware.
Of course, the premise here is just minor details... its only purpose is to get you into their orbiting screening room where the very heart of the show exists. You're watching a crappy movie, and listening to the three silhouetted characters in the corner make wisecracks about it. Many don't see the humor in this (probably those who take movie-watching too seriously), but it got to me back in 1994 and I've been a fan of the show ever since.
The film-within-a-film here is Universal's classic "This Island Earth", featuring Russell "The Professor" Johnson among other 50s film has-beens. Yes, the "Earth" film sucks to high heaven, but that's the whole point. Listening to the hilarious zingers that Mike & Co. toss at the movie, you almost forget how bad the movie is and laugh your ass off. Hardcore MST fans will have a ball spotting all the in-jokes and obscure references. Another nice touch: Mike and the 'bots riff on their own closing credits.
My only complaint against this film is... it's TOO DAMN SHORT. 75 minutes??? Any TV episode of MST3K is about half an hour longer than that, after cutting out all the commercials. Hopefully we can get a director's cut or something in the not-too-distant future.
MST3K The Movie got the shaft marketing-wise from Gramercy, thus, despite good reviews (including two thumbs up from Sisk & Eeb), this film had a limited run and flopped at the box office. If somebody can give MST3K a second shot at the big screen, with better marketing and all, it could possibly do decent cinemaplex business. Believe me, those folks in Minnesota knew how to make crappy movies entertaining.
If you're ever in Austin on a Friday night, there's an outfit called Mr. Sinus Theater that's keeping the MST3K legacy alive by doing live shows at the Alamo Drafthouse, trashing films like "Xanadu" and "Crossroads" and doing everything that Best Brains used to do with their signature series. If not... well, this film serves as a decent introduction to the MST3K universe, but you're better off hunting down VHS or DVD copies of the television series itself.Push the button, Frank.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=570&reviewer=9
originally posted: 08/25/98 08:02:52
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USA
19-Apr-1996 (PG-13)
DVD: 27-May-1998
UK
N/A (PG)
Australia
03-Oct-1996 (PG)
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