Since Tron wasn't very good, and Matt Elliot was kind of boring, I won't be purchasing tracks based on the Rifftrax name alone anymore.
Makes sense, I guess. It's not the "RiffTrax" brand that is inherently funny, it's the people performing. And I'm amazed at the number of variables involved in even
that equation. I didn't find Matthew Elliot to be boring, just ...
alone. I'd like to hear Matthew do a riff with a partner or two. Solo tracks seem to me to be incredibly difficult to pull off; even some of Mike Nelson's solo efforts are, for me, in that category of "generally ok" but not "hilariously funny". For example: I thought
Road House was hilarious; I was generally underwhelmed by
Point Break. I thought Matthew Elliot had some pretty funny riffs, but I also thought his trax suffered from the Lonely Guy in the Sound Booth syndrome (which is obviously not his fault).
I've been watching some old
MST3k episodes lately, and finding that some of the same variables are at work. The writers for season 1 and 2 were mostly the same writers for season 5, 6, and 7, right? But I'm not enjoying the performance of the earlier seasons as much as the later seasons; the jokes are the same quality, in my estimation, but the performances seem to be less energetic and more deadpan, and to me that's just not as funny. But that's just my preference.
Some people here liked
Ghost and
Tron. I found it hard to get used to the performance styles in both of those trax; a few laughs here and there, but on the whole it was like trying to get used to a new pair of shoes. Why? I hear that those two trax were written by many of the same writers who contribute to "regular" RiffTrax commentaries. The quality of the jokes seemed to be more than adequate; I just wasn't used to those voices, those particular line-readings, those specific deliveries. Maybe I'll enjoy the next Stratton/Varney production more, because I've become a little more accustomed to their style; maybe I'll like the next PS&JC production better, because the voices are a bit more familiar to me now. Who knows?
All of that to say, there seem to be a lot of elements that have to mix well in order to make a good RiffTrax: a generally digestible movie (oh my good god, but
Tron was painful to watch!), quality riff writing, familiar performers, good timing and delivery, voices that are easy on the ears (I can't imagine enjoying a riff recorded by, say, Gilbert Gottfried, no matter how funny the jokes), a good production mix (I'm looking at you, low mic levels on
Red Dawn!), and probably a few more that I can't articulate right now.
I'm not sure I could sit through another viewing of
Running Man, I don't really know the Blame Society performers, and I don't know how well Chad Vader fits into a non-SW context. But I'll probably buy the riff anyway; or maybe I'll wait until Blame Society produces a riff for a movie I'm more interested in seeing riffed. Who knows?
Topic: Wow really no love for the Running Man Rifftrax Presents I see (Read 14050 times)