MISFITS Video Picks for August 28, 2000
In all the talk about how great 1999 was for movies, this one was not often
mentioned (although Roger Ebert picked it as one of the ten best films of
the year). Well now it's out on video and you owe it to yourself to see one
of the funniest movies of 1999. A documentary about one man's odyssey to
make a low budget horror film, it has something mildly poignant to say about
chasing your dreams. For the most part, however, it is a humorous romp
though the mind of someone who desperately needs to stop drinking beer if he
really wants to make a great film. Like most good documentaries, this one
was not nominated for an Oscar. But, like the Michael Moore classic Roger and
Me, this film shows that the funniest people you can put on the screen are
the real ones.
You know there's a lot of talk about Superhero movies these days, what with the
recent X-Men film, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movie in development, and Warner
Brothers' new Superman and Batman projects in development hell. One comic book
adaptation I remembered fondly from Childhood was the original 1977 TV Movie of
The Incredible Hulk. Predating the CBS TV Series, The Incredible Hulk TV movie
didn't suffer from the series descent into The Fugitive-like formula, and the
inevitable un-scariness of the Hulk as he became not only more familiar to the
audience but week after week managed to never really seriously hurt ANYONE --
not even the bad guys.
But that original TV movie had more of an edge. It told the origin of the Hulk,
more believably and emotionally than Banner's comic book Gamma Bomb. This was a
scientist driven to discover the secret behind human beings ability to
temporarily tap into seemingly superhuman strength in times of crisis, which he
was unable to years earlier when he lost his wife in a tragic auto accident.
Bill Bixby turns in a brilliantly textured performance Dr. David Banner, and Lou
Ferrigno is as big and scary a Hulk as could be delivered in the days before
CGI.
Often revisiting favorites from childhood is a set-up for disappointment, with
the more sophisticated adult eye finding nothing but flaws that had escaped it
in its youth. But when I found the original TV movie on video a couple of years
ago, I was delighted to discover that it actually EXCEEDED my recollections,
taking the subject matter more seriously than I would have expected. The movie
was written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, who later went on to develop the
outstanding Alien Nation TV series. I highly recommend this movie for anyone
seeking out the better adaptations of comic book heroes to a live action medium.
And remember: Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry...
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