Random Movie Club

YOUR MARCH 2005 RMC RESULTS ARE IN!

The Preshow Entertainment was: ONCE MORE WITH FEELING (BUFFY EPISODE)

What can I say other than "brilliant." First, Joss Whedon creates a great TV show based on the movie (which he wrote as well). Then he creates an episode where all the characters break into song. But not just hack-song. A full-on parody of the Musical and all its conventions, including camera angles, multi-location cutaways, backing dancers with brooms, and self-referential winks that take you to the edge without going over it. And did I mention that Whedon wrote the music and lyrics, the script, and directed the episode?

Relentless in its creativity and its class. For people who are snooty about watching TV, this proves a fine dose of art.

What's weird is, I haven't seen many episodes of BUFFY. Maybe 2 plus this one. It simply slipped through the cracks when it first aired. I knew I'd love it. But still, I never made it my business to watch it. SOUTH PARK and THE SIMPSONS too. Every time I channel hop and watch one, I ask myself, How come I don't see all of these? Well, now, with DVDs, I guess it's easier. I'll get around to all of them. You'll see.

We didn't get to watch the whole show because the pizza arrived. But we've seen it before. If you haven't seen it, you are in for a real treat. And I'd stake my life on it. Get it? Stake? See what I did there?

But we all pretty much agreed that the movie we watched was the symbiotic answer to "Once More With Feeling." A movie so bad, they went and called it GREASE 2.

Directed terribly by GREASE choreographer Patricia Birch, and written by Ken Finkleman (WHO'S THAT GIRL?), this movie is so bad it makes FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY look good. There is nothing good here, at all. I promise you.

That said, we did get to have a bucket of laughs at its expense. I mean, geez, they sort of asked for it. Dance numbers in the bowl-a-rama, opening song that went on forever, a fantasy sequence at what we believed to be the end of the movie, the list goes on. And although I'm told the song "Reproduction" is the "famous" tune from the movie, it was "Who's That Guy?" that stole this boy's heart.

I didn't have high hopes for this movie. But I didn't think it would be this awful.

I think the story was about Michael (Maxwell Caufield), an Australian transfer student, who falls in love with Stephanie (Michelle Pfeiffer, one year before her SCARFACE breakout), one of the Pink Ladies. Although Stephanie can chew gum and the scenery at the same time, she refuses to go out with Michael because he's not cool. So Michael does what any snubbed guy does in this case- he buys a pair of goggles and practices falling off a motorcycle. After a montage, he comes by on his bike and saves someone (doesn't matter who) as this new "Cool Rider." Naturally, stupid and shallow Stephanie likes this masked stranger. Then, somehow, an entire school year goes by, and there's a talent show. But beforehand, the Cool Rider dies, presumably riding his bike over a cliff while being chased by the jealous T Birds. So, Stephanie has a fantasy sequence while performing at the talent show, where she and Cool Rider are happy in heaven. She somehow becomes Queen of the...um, something. Then there's a luau, and Cool Rider, who didn't die, I guess, reveals himself as Michael, who basically tells her that he loves her, even though she is dumb. The End.

I suppose there is some credit to be given to the cast and crew for taking a crowd-pleasing, beloved movie like GREASE, and sucking every ounce of life out of it. Grease may be the word in the first movie, but for GREASE 2, shit is the word. All hail Justin and Kelly.