Kindergarten Cop (1990)

Kindergarten Cop is something truly special - a perfect combination of gooey sentimentality and High Eighties polish. Arnold plays a hard-edged narc cop trying to bring the greasy drug lord Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson, with hair to match his character's name) to justice. Arnold discovers that Crisp's ex-wife and son reside in a small Oregon town, so he and a former teacher-turned-detective O'Hara go undercover to find the wife to get her to testify. Arnold is forced to take O'Hara's substitute teaching place when she comes down with the flu, and hilarity ensues when brawny manly man is overwhelmed by cute little childrens. On paper, this film sounds like an absurd, forced attempt to combine an 80s action flick with a fish-out-of-water comedy - but somehow the collision of square muscle-ness and circle kindergarten-ness is handled with enough charm (and about as much grace as an Arnold vehicle can be handled) to make it really work. So much so that Arnold's pride and protectiveness of his kindergarteners as he learns to tame the classroom becomes a far more interesting and touching story than the action elements that return in the third act. The film certainly has its weaknesses, a villain duo that's not all that interesting, a third act that's not quite as exciting as its first two, some humor that seems misplaced now (and may have seemed misplaced even back in 1990), but somehow the unlikely duo of Arnold and kids is a strong enough glue-stick to keep the film mostly in one piece. Kindergarten Cop always sucks me in whenever it's on television and then proceeds to take a straight shot at my heart.

8/10

Waiting for Guffman (1996)

From the mind of Christopher Guest comes this documentary-style comedy depicting the production of a play in small town Missouri. Guest provides us with characters who are at times sincere and lovable while also laughably delusional and/or way in over their heads. In celebration of the sesquicentennial anniversary of a small Missouri town named Blaine, theatre maven Corky St. Clair decides to put on a commemorative musical with the usual town actors plus some. The dubious promise that a Broadway producer, Guffman, is going to come critique the show adds fuel to the motivational fire. The film could easily have strayed into the territory of cruel mockery of both small town characters and community theater, but thankfully it didn't. Instead, we're presented with a cast of delightfully incompetent characters acting their hearts out and with a community that perfectly captures the pride of small town America. The cutaways to the audience during the final performance were a perfect illustration of the bond between the community members, made only more hilarious by the play's in-jokes and shameless self-promotion. And despite the cringe-worthy show, the genuine effort put in by the actors and the unbridled excitement of their fellow townies adds up to a pretty touching experience. Like Guest's Spinal Tap, every performance was (mostly) consistent and convincing, and the characters were human with maybe a little exaggeration thrown in for dramatic effect. Highly quotable quotes. I have a hunch that this is a film that gets better every time you watch it.

8/10

Back to School (1986)

Back to School is a film made up of many amusing parts that don't quite fit together. Perhaps it was the weak, nagging performance of the son (Keith Gordon), or the hodge-podge of underdeveloped college caricatures that populate the picture: student anarchist (Robert Downey, Jr), wispy fun-loving lit professor (Sally Kellerman), fratters, jocks, etc. The only strong caricature was Paxton Whitehead's rigid business professor, the main antagonist. Despite all this, the film does make a few pretty amusing stabs at the university scene, the pretentious academia and intellectualism, and education vs practice. Lost in the mix are lessons about fatherly love, independence, and self-worth. The only thing that elevates the picture is Rodney Dangerfield, playing his usual character--faux-classy, crass, wise-cracking and bugging his eyes out every chance he can get. He's hilarious and nearly the only good reason to watch the film. The other good reason is a cameo by Kurt Vonnegut. I wasn't a huge fan of Danny Elfman's score, but I enjoyed his appearance with band Oingo Boingo during one of the party scenes. The film isn't bad, but the parts that aren't Rodney Dangerfield are serviceable at best and are barely held together by its flimsy plot.

6/10

Repo Man (1984)

Repo Man is awesome--it's quirky, bizarre, biting, and hilarious. Emilio Estevez stars as Otto, a white suburban punk who quits his job and becomes a repo man alongside Bud (Harry Dean Stanton). They compete to seize a mysterious radioactive 1964 Chevy Malibu while dodging alien conspiracists, the Rodriguez brothers (a rival repo gang), and wacky government agents. The world is inhabited by mindless middle-aged folk, punks, televangelists, and the cosmic unconscious. Repo Man has the same offbeat energy and wild enthusiasm as Buckaroo Banzai, but it's put to better use as there's a lot less zaniness for pure zaniness' sake. The characters are colorful, and the film is highly quotable. I also loved how all of the products were labeled plainly: BEER, FOOD, DRINK, and I wonder if Don Delillo saw Repo Man before writing White Noise. In fact, there are quite a few similarities between the two. While I'm not big into punk music, the soundtrack fit the film really well. One of the most inventive and creative cult films I've ever seen. I highly recommend it.

8/10

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die aka Se Tutte le Donne del Mondo (1966)

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die is a lighthearted spy spoof comedy in the vein of Dino De Laurentiis' other comic book outings in the 1960s (ie Danger: Diabolik, Barbarella). Matt Connors stars as American secret agent Kelly, working to uncover a hairbrained scheme to sterilize the United States by a grinning horndog maniac Conrad Veidt impersonator (Raf Vallone). The plot is rather similar to Moonraker, which didn't come out for another decade and a half. Connors is a bit boring, but he's okay. Terry-Thomas provides the comic relief--as if the film really needed any. As far as comic relief goes though, Terry-Thomas is as good as you can get, and I love him for it. The film plays out with tongue firmly placed in cheek, including some pretty childish gags--slipping on a banana peel, for example--but it kept my attention. The real star of the picture was the music by Mario Nascimbene which is equal parts bossa nova and '60s Italo-soundtrack. Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die is a comic book movie the way comic book movies should be made--fun first, questions later.

6/10

Italian Job, The (1969)

Michael Caine stars in this lighthearted heist film that spoofs British culture relentlessly. From the stiff upper lip Mr Bridger (Noel Coward) who fancies himself like the Queen of England to the zany, non-sequitur sight gags and droll humor, The Italian Job is distinctly British and an unusual comedy-crime thriller. Caine delivers a great performance as Charlie Croker, a criminal fresh out of prison who decides to work a huge job--The Italian Job--as a favor to a deceased friend. He has to manage and wrangle with a team of incompetent but likeable cronies to pull off the elaborate heist--and what an elaborate heist it is. Featuring three Mini Cooper getaway cars (in the colors of the British flag) and a huge coach (also British colors), as well as some complicated but unlikely getaway tactics, the chase scene was more comedy than suspense, but it was fun. And that can be said for the rest of the picture. Surprisingly, the comedy combines well with the suspense and it rolls up nicely into a shallow but enjoyable film.

7/10

Vampire's Kiss (1988)

Interested due to the number of Nic Cage freak outs, Vampire's Kiss was a miserable 100 minutes of a film that was not funny enough to be a comedy but not smart enough to be taken seriously. Cage stars as a rich, yuppie literary agent who mistakenly believes he is turning into a vampire after he is haunted by the terribly miscast Jennifer Beals. Bizarre, confusing, and slow, Nic Cage's acting is hilariously bad, which is the only reason to watch. Unfortunately, there's not enough worth seeing to justify watching the entire film. Vampire's Kiss is a film that had a great concept but was executed terribly. Stick to the Cage Rage video, and you should get as much Vampire's Kiss as you need.

3/10

Rubber (2010)

Diabolically tongue-in-cheek send up of movies and movie-watchers that tells you it's not going to contain any reason and delivers on its promise. The main plot seems a little goofy: a tire in the desert rolls around killing things with its psychokinetic powers. What was clever was that we are actually the viewers of both the film and a set of viewers of the film (except they stood in the desert with pairs of binoculars). Rubber is a film about movies. Cliches are played with. The viewers are both viewers and participants in the film. Some of the main characters realize they are acting. In fact, this self-referentiality reminded me very much of the Theatre of the Absurd. Maybe a bit pretentious, Rubber took a pretty big risk by throwing itself so far out there. Overall, an intelligent and delightful film.

8/10

Stuff, The (1985)

Fantastic horror-comedy about a white substance marketed as dessert that is hazardous to your health. Michael Moriarty gives an excellent performance as a corporate saboteur. While definitely done on a low-budget, this film managed to be extremely entertaining with a good dash of satire. I can't help but feel slightly guilty that I watched this movie with a belly full of McDonalds.

7/10