Were Mike & Kevin Too Harsh?

[Cambot]

Of course not!

I couldn't even type that subject line with a straight face. I want to hear from you if you thought there were, though

[Pak-Man]

Just a little.

Don't get me wrong. I love Ep 1, but it sure had it coming to it. I just think there should have been a bit more riffing on the events in the movie and a bit less slamming the movie for being what it is. Still loved it, but a little more wisecracking in place of complaining would have been nice. :^)

[LadyKenobi]

I agree with the Man of Pak.  They trod the same ground over and over, and one of those patches of grass happened to be the overall suckiness of the film.  I mean, every now and then it was very funny and when they came up with something unexpected I laughed a lot, but I thought that due to all the anger and farting noises, some riffing opportunities were missed-- what, no Spencer's Gifts references with the Gungan lightning balls?  Sometimes a character would say something just bizarre or Lucas-awful, and I'd tense up all, "Yeah? Yeah?" and... nothing.

I thought there was a bit too much reliance on North Dakota/Asian accents/chicken noises/Kevin spewing/making up stupid names.  Two or three times is a running joke.  Four or more is a comedy rut.  However, I certainly couldn't be anywhere near as funny as they were for two-plus hours of overblown CGI (how can you possibly beat "I appear in the name of transfats" and "He's the guy all the other Jedis go to for weed")? 

I did wince a couple of times when they damned the entire movie in such broad terms, because I thought Ewan McGregor did a terrific job with what he had to work with and the lightsaber battle was pretty darn good.  Although, I have to admit... sometimes stating the obvious is simply needed.  I cracked up the first time Fakey Jake opened his mouth and Mike just kind of muttered, "He's terrible." 

[darthvedder81]

I don't know if too harsh is the right word but I thought some of the wisecracks were a tad unoriginal.

They riffed on just about every cliched criticism of the movie?I mean it's not exactly great humorous insight to point out that Jar Jar is annoying. Even Lucas knows he's annoying, he made the character annoying on purpose (whether or not you agree with that decision is a different story).

The racism accusations I continue to find ridiculous. That was one of the first critiques leveled at Lucas and it's the only one I find totally unmerited. Ahmed Best and many of the other actors came to GL's defense on that one and rightfully so.

Just saying "He's terrible" was also kind of stupid. C'mon, Mike come up with something better than just an outright attack on the poor guy! Jake wasn't exactly Sir John Gielgud but I thought he held his own in the emotional scenes with his mother. Personally I prefer my kid actors to actually be kids sometimes and not just creepy little 40 year olds in 10 year old bodies (I'm looking at you Haley Joel).

TPM isn't flawless and great but I also think it suffered from a) Being a huge target because of it being part of the most successful and influential movie franchise of all time b) The single most anticipated movie that has ever has been released or ever will be.

If it was the first SW film the weak aspects still wouldn't be excused by people but it also wouldn't have had to withstand all the vitriol and venom and would have been viewed as a pretty harmless little fairy tale.

[LadyKenobi]

Just saying "He's terrible" was also kind of stupid. C'mon, Mike come up with something better than just an outright attack on the poor guy!

But they later backed it up with, "Is Frank Oz controlling this kid?"  I thought that was hilarious, so they just didn't let it lie with "He's terrible."  And that was funny to me because of the way Mike delivered it-- it wasn't just a flat read.  His tone was half wonder, half laughter:  Why did you do this to us, George?  That in and of itself was commentary, and is the type of thing one of my friends would say while watching the film.  His performance made it a riff rather than just a slam.

[dignan]

Not at all.  I especially loved the riffs that poked fun at everyone's incredibly flat deliveries. 

[mrbasehart]

No, I didn't.  I thought that Phantom Menace was pretty bad beforehand (apart from some very nicely put together scenes) and so the level of animosity towards the film I believe was entirely expected.  I especially laughed when Jar Jar started talking at one point and Mike just said abruptly, "Go to Hell!"

[darthvedder81]

Just saying "He's terrible" was also kind of stupid. C'mon, Mike come up with something better than just an outright attack on the poor guy!

But they later backed it up with, "Is Frank Oz controlling this kid?"  I thought that was hilarious, so they just didn't let it lie with "He's terrible."  And that was funny to me because of the way Mike delivered it-- it wasn't just a flat read.  His tone was half wonder, half laughter:  Why did you do this to us, George?  That in and of itself was commentary, and is the type of thing one of my friends would say while watching the film.  His performance made it a riff rather than just a slam.

Yeah that line was pretty funny.

Though, if you watch "The Beginning" documentary on the DVD you'll see that Jake Lloyd, believe it or not, was light years better than the other boys who tried out for Anakin. It actually could've been a hell of a lot worse!

[Cambot]

Some of the riffs were vintage Mike & Kevin. Like comparing some of the creatures to real human counterparts they may slightly resemble. Like when Jar-Jar was introduced, Mike quips "Michael Bolton??" And saying that Watto was a great Paul Giamatti part.

[Otis]

No. This movie deserves everything that can be thrown at it. I was a huge Star Wars fan as a kid. I saw the first movie three times during the opening week. And TPM just. plain. sucked. Bad script. Wooden acting. Jar Jar. Cute kid. Horrible accents. Trade blockade.

Way to ruin a franchise indeed.

[Tyrant]

  Hey, if anything, Mike and Kevin weren't harsh -enough-. I would have enjoyed having this movie thoroughly bloodied inside and out, but I suppose all the humor would have bled out too.

   Equal parts riff and insult did this movie well. The movie deserved both.

[J-Proof]

TPM is my new favorite riff movie because I thought it was just right

(And I loved the Asian references with the Trade Fed aliens - classic)

Even if it was too harsh.... I didn't care =)

[kodiakthejuggler]

(And I loved the Asian references with the Trade Fed aliens - classic)

Funny,

I've been thinking of them that way from the first time I saw them onscreen!

Though I haven't hear the Rifftrak(s) just yet(Saturday night can't come fast enough!), I am anxious to hear how Mike and Kevin make my dreams a reality!

[FrensaGeran]

"Oh I just keep thinkin' of the poor superfan in the Stormtrooper outfit at the premiere of this turd sayin' to himself 'Ok, MAYBE the next scene won't EAT quite as much!' and then each scene EATS more than the one before it."

Minus the outfit, this was me. This was so terribly, terribly me. This was the greatest rifftrax yet. They're redundancy and anger over the film just really connected with me, and I laughed in torrents.

Good show, Mike and Kevin.

[J-Proof]

"Oh I just keep thinkin' of the poor superfan in the Stormtrooper outfit at the premiere of this turd sayin' to himself 'Ok, MAYBE the next scene won't EAT quite as much!' and then each scene EATS more than the one before it."

Minus the outfit, this was me. This was so terribly, terribly me. This was the greatest rifftrax yet. They're redundancy and anger over the film just really connected with me, and I laughed in torrents.

Good show, Mike and Kevin.

Haha - I was in junior high at the time... and I remember my buddy sitting next to me throwing popcorn at the screen when Maul couldn't slice Obi in half after Obi leaps over him..... Funny, because the move that Obi uses to kill Maul is the move that Ani uses at the end of RotS - and /Ani/ is the one that gets sliced in half....

Continuity problems, Georgio!