Mike Nelson on Riffing Good Movies

[Sharktopus]

I have to say it must be pretty difficult NOT to sound pompous when you make fun of and/or criticize movies for a living. Honestly, there've been a few times when Mike and company have come of a little holier-than-thou (Kevin on ST V, for instance), but it's obvious that's it's still all in good fun. If anything, Mike should be commended for his long success at not coming off as a pompous ass, especially compared to say, for example, a certain pair of thumb-brandishing windbags.

Back on topic: I interpret this interview as Mike saying he doesn't intend to riff "good" movies because he doesn't want to, not because it can't be done. Personally, I believe the enjoyment of virtually any film can be augmented with riffing. But I'm not the Riffmaster.

[Tarantulas]

I mean you could riff "The Grand Illusion", but would you really want to?

Remember that "popular" isn't the same thing as "good"

[Edward J Grug III]

MJN: ... comedies don?t really work, even lame comedies, because what do you say? If their comedy failed, you just say? you just keep pointing out that their comedy failed. It?s not funny. So you have to kind of make your own thing, and? A certain earnestness to the film helps and?

That makes me happy because I'll never have to endure Jingle All The Way.

[AmandaGal]

I took him to say that he wouldn't riff the movies he himself enjoyed/liked/thought were great.  It's hard to tease your favorite anything, no matter how bad it is.  It's like making fun of your kids.  No matter how ugly they are or how much your new baby resembles an alien, they're always beautiful to you.  It's hard to find a flaw.  When you're close to something or something sparks an emotion, it's hard to make jokes about it.

Now, does he enjoy them because they are "good" movies?  Art is personally so they are "good" to him.  He said he enjoyed the LOTR films and I think they're horrible.  I much prefer the books.  Do I think he's wrong for liking them? No.  I'm sure he has a personal reason.  That's what art does.  It speaks to people differently.

Or he could be just trying to confuse us all, which is more likely.  He's probably sitting back in a massive recliner laughing evilly at our attempts to figure out the riff-picking process.

[shortstack]

Hmm, well I'll throw my own speculation into the mix:

Mike's been working/writing in comedy for a good while, and I would imagine that he's pretty good at automatically seeing 'comedic possibility' in certain things/films, while not seeing them in others.  It could just be that he enjoys Casablanca and It's a Wonderful Life too much on a sentimental level to really find anything to make fun of. 

On the other hand, that's not to say he couldn't love LOTR and really see comedic possibility in it.  Hell, I liked Fellowship a lot, and even I was snickering at the onscreen homosexual undertones. 

I think it just depends on the film. 

As to the poll, It's a Wonderful Life has been brought up time and time again when people talk about christmas movies on the board, so it might just be a reflection of that.

Or maybe they're just chosen abitrarily. Who knows.

In the end, I don't think Mike is speaking in absolutes- I think he's just giving his general impressions, based on his experience as a writer.

[AmandaGal]

Good point   I think riffing LOTR would be excruciatingly painful.  If riffing a normal length movie takes forever, imagine riffing LOTR, the movie that never ends.  I imagine those involved would pick up the TV and throw it across the room by the end of the process.    I can see why riffing even a good movie would make you hate it.  I can't imagine watching any movie that many times and that closely.  LOTR would be torture.

Makes me feel sorry for them.  They had to watch Hobgoblins countless times just for our enjoyment.  Poor crew.