Since the cancellation of Mystery Science Theater 3000, the masters of mockery behind the cult hit TV show have been finding ways to continue to do what they do best: riff on bad movies. Mike Nelson (who served as head writer of the show and host for the second half of its run) has recently been providing his own sarcastic commentary tracks on DVD releases from Legend Films (such as the colorized Plan 9 From Outer Space) and even started up a website, RiffTrax, to offer up downloadable riffs for newer or more popular films. Occasionally joining him in these endeavors have been Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett (who performed MST3K’s robot-puppet hecklers as of the series’ conclusion), but now the three have reunited fully for a new direct-to-DVD series dubbed “The Film Crew.”
Now, the first thing a fan of MST3K is going to want to know is: how does The Film Crew compare to watching Mike and the ‘bots aboard the Satellite of Love? The differences are really pretty minor. First off, there are no robot puppets, silhouettes covering the movie or sci-fi frameworks with The Film Crew. Instead of receiving bad movies from a mad scientist as a kind of experiment, now the trio receives bad movies from an eccentric billionaire and are tasked by him with providing commentary tracks for old films that previously had none. The rest is pretty much the exactly the same.
The Film Crew’s first offering is a bleak, borderline nonsensical 1960s drama about strippers entitled Hollywood After Dark. In the film, a young (but not too young) Rue McClanahan dreams of becoming an actress but is saddled with a lowly stripper's existence. She meets a junk dealing diver who also gets caught up in the seedier side of Hollywood’s nightlife and together they find a brief bit of happiness before everything comes crashing down for both of them. In the meantime there’s a tensionless robbery, goofy scenes of “frolicking” at the beach, and lots of nearly nude “dancing” that involves surprisingly little stripping. It’s just the kind of cinematic turkey that Nelson, Murphy, and Corbett can really sink their teeth into, and their riffing of Hollywood After Dark is easily just as hilarious or even more so than many of their MST3K episodes.
Article comments
1 - Lisa McKay
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States, and Boston.com, which will allow even more readers to enjoy it.
2 - Frederick Royce Perez
This personal attack basically takes issue with the reviewers relative pleasure in opposing heights of fun and hilarity measured against the S.O.L. Crew from MST3K aka The Film Crew . In their own sketches versus the 'riffing' on flawed execution from other esteemed artists I gain insight , however clumsily , into the fundamentalist essence of wisecr(qu)ackery . I disagree with the reviewer that these derivative sketches were or can be flat in comparison . I disagree to the point of abuse . Oh I so disagree . So there . I get so mad it hurts . I think I may be feeling a reaction in a sketch coming on to me . Oh how you will pay in painful costumes and flawed delivery and obvious to excruciatingly pointless revelation . The airless pristine environment where pure fun can grow unhindered by the germ laden real world where gross idiocy has real consequences , outside of politics . Yes that is it you must be shown the inescapable Soupy Sales logic of life . Only then will it be possible for you to conclude this work is measurable in gross tectonic weights .
3 - Frederick Royce Perez
I thought this might be interesting FRP
On Aug 7, 2007, at 11:17 AM, Barry B. Sandrew, Ph.D. wrote:
Hi Fred -
No, Legend Films has nothing to do with The Film Crew. My understanding is that The Film Crew was a gig that Mike, Kevin and Bill did a couple of years ago. There were only four DVDs produced in total. After that, Mike joined Legend Films and created RiffTrax. While Kevin and Bill have no obligations to Legend Films, Mike is currently on the Legend Films production staff as Creative Producer and it would be a conflict of interest for him to do any more DVDs for The Film Crew. Indeed, he's deeply involved in making RiffTrax as much of a success as MST3K. Both Kevin and Bill join him frequently, both individually and together creating the latest RiffTrax. The also do live RiffTrax appearances in San Francisco. So it would appear that The Film Crew is a flash in the pan that was likely released now because of the huge success of Rifftrax.
Thanks,
Barry
Barry B. Sandrew, Ph.D.
President/COO
Legend Films, Inc.
[Personal contact info deleted]