613 - THE SINISTER URGE with short: KEEPING CLEAN AND NEAT

Short:  This experiment opens with a short on grooming.  M&tBs riff it well and it is featured on the MST Shorts Vol. 2 tape from Rhino.

Synopsis:  The feature is, unmistakably, an Ed Wood movie.  Face it, a lot of people can make a good movie and a lot more can make a bad movie, but it takes a true talent to consistently make movies so bad that they’re good.  Ed Wood is just such a talent.  This is the first time I’ve seen this particular Ed Wood film but it was unmistakably his work: the Woodian production values (i.e.. there were none), the laughably awkward and painfully inept Woodian dialogue, and the Woodian, make that wooden, performances from his buddies who star in the film.  The plot deals with a pornography ring that apparently specializes in porno films which only star full-figured women wearing bathing suits (I bet in their racier porno films, the women all wear bikinis!) and some guy who, driven crazy by these pictures of women in bathing suits, goes on a killing spree.

Don’s Review:  Although this movie isn’t quite as funny as Plan 9 from Outer Space – it comes pretty darn close.  The riffing on this is okay, but not as funny as it could have been and not as funny as the movie itself.  And the host segments are a bit different this time, featuring an ongoing storyline where Frank – influenced by movies like Speed and Blown Away – becomes a dynamite welding madman who wants to blow everything up (it’s a good thing he didn’t see the bathing suit women porno films, who knows what those would have done to him!)   But, as one of only two Ed Wood directed films to be MSTed (ep #423 is the other one), this episode is a must-see.

Don’s Rating:  [ S:   F: ]

Forrest’s Review:  How does Ed Wood do it?!  Wow.  This is one bad freakin’ film.  I disagree with Don about it being almost as hilarious as Plan 9.  Sure I got a few unintentional laughs from the movie on its own, but Plan 9 is as funny as anything done on MST3K.  And that’s without the riffing!!!!  The riffing on this episode varied a bit.  In fact, I was actually disappointed for a stretch of the riffing.  The first two movie segments had only okay riffing, with a few laugh out loud moments here and there, but I felt it should be better, but then, the third and fourth movie segments has first class riffing.  There were plenty of big laughs, and I laughed all the way through.  Quite a turn around, and it took me off guard.   The host segments are funny because they make fun of “bad guys” in movies like Speed.  Watch for a funny reference to Fugitive Alien in one of the host segments.  Overall, this is a great episode, for the excellent riffing in the second half of the film, and some very funny and very enjoyable host segments.  However, a so-so short and only okay riffing in the first half of the movie, keep this episode from reaching perfection.  Still, there are enough laughs for me to give it a high rating, but since I didn’t like the short all that much (where I only got the chuckles) I’m going to have to give it a lower rating than Don.  A shame that I didn’t like the short, I wanted to give this episode a higher rating.  Well, I did give The Violent Years a full five Crow rating, even though I didn’t like the short....hell, I’ll give this one...

Forrest’s Rating:  [ S:   F: ]