So, before I give my list, I wanted to talk about the underpinnings of my various choices.
For me, the space in these films where comedy fits are the yawning chasm between a film's desire (in some cases, even demand) to be taken seriously, and its ability to be taken seriously.
Sometimes, a film desire for seriousness is compromised by dated ideas or trappings, sometimes by sheer ineptitude. Most of my selections possess some variation on this idea. I just thought I'd lay it out up front, instead of having to explain thoroughly in each selection.
These are in no particular order:
Batman (1989) or
Batman Returns -- I know there's a huge push to Riff
Batman and Robin, but while there are a LOT of things about that TERRIBLE film to make fun of, the fact is that
B & R is basically a comedy. Tim Burton's first two Batman movies, on the other hand, are, despite Burton's trademark "ghouls' funhouse" atmosphere, clearly meant to be taken seriously. This, combined with how the films have aged (despite my love for these first two Batman films, the passing years have given me ability to see the flaws with something of an objective eye), plus Burton's complete inability to laugh at himself, makes either of these movies ripe for the Riffing.
Invasion of the Bee Girls http://www.amazon.com/Invasion-Star-Creatures-Bee-Girls/dp/B0007R4T1M/ref=imdbpov_dvd_0/002-6559928-3633658 -- How this beautiful dish of
cinema con queso somehow failed to be given the business on
MST3K is utterly beyond me (maybe its semi-adult content was a factor); With its ridiculous plot, gratuitous nudity and one of the most stupid fight scenes in film history, it's time to correct this oversight.
Billy Jack -- SUPER-serious, and impossibly funny. From incomprehensible improv street theatre, to a supposedly naked woman's visible top (thanks to the film's "open-matte" transfer; it's never been issued in widescreen), to its vague "back to nature" philosophical musings,
Billy Jack is a comedy treasure.
Soylent Green/The Omega Man/Planet of the Apes -- ANY post-apocalyptic film starring Mister Charlton Heston will fill the bill.
Zardoz -- No, I haven't dropped it. It wants to be one of those "thoughtful" 70's post-apocalyptic "cautionary tales;" and, goddammit, it wants it like nobody's business, in spite of the complete lack of any concrete idea just what it is it's warning us about.
Godzilla Vs. Hedorah (a.k.a.,
Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster) -- Thanks to
MST3K, we've had all the Gamera we can possibly keep down. It's time to go back to the granddaddy of all rubber-suit monsters, which hasn't been done since
MST3K's second season. This film's environmental "message" makes it a perfect candidate.
The Passion of the Christ -- The ULTIMATE in preaching to the choir. This one could be priced at $4.49, with $.50 of each purchase being donated to The Anti-Defamation League.
Carrie -- Still a great, terrifying film... and Riffable as HELL.
Akira -- If only to hear Mike, Kevin and Bill's multiple interpretations as to what the HELL the ending of this movie actually
means.
Eragon -- I've never seen this movie, but two kinds of people have: those who found the books juvenile and derivative, and found the movie to be more of the same; and those who enjoyed the books, and managed to still hate the movie for its combination of arch seriousness and appalling incompetence.
Topic: List the top 10 films you'd want riffed (Read 285212 times)
