Reefer Madness (1936)

 

Today is 4/20. National Weed Day for those who are hip and cool like me. So today I wanted to talk about a movie that is as equally ridiculous and beloved by bad movie fans as Plan 9. Plan 9: Weed Edition if you will. 1936 Reefer Madness. This movie is absurd for every reason imaginable. Everywhere from the random assembly scenes of a presenter talking to an audience that feels like they're from a different movie (more on that later) to the acting, to the acting, to the acting, have I mentioned the acting in this movie is out of this world? 

Reefer Madness is not your typical movie, it starts off with an assembly of parents being preached to by a guy who definitely knows what an 8-ball is. He goes on to tell a story about a couple who sells pot named Mae Coleman and Jack Perry (Thelma White and Carlton Young). Jack, against the wishes of Mae and with the help of Ralph Wiley (Dave O'Brien) and Blanche (Lillian Miles), throw a party where high schooler Bill Harper (Kenneth Craig), and college student Jimmy Lane (Warren McCollum). At said party Jack runs out of weed and Jimmy and Bill offer to pick up more. When they pick up the drugs, Jack gets Jimmy high without consent and Jimmy commits a hit and run. Jack threatens Jimmy to keep his mouth shut and forget he was at the party after they learn the man they hit died of his injuries. Things get even wilder as Bill has an affaire with Blanche, and Jimmy's sister Mary (Dorothy Short) goes to Mae's apartment to look for Bill and gets accidentally shot by Jack who tries to frame Bill for the murder. Things spiral more as Bill and Ralph get even higher and nearly go to prison for the murder. The movie ends with the presenter from the beginning telling the audience to "Tell Your Children."

Reefer Madness was released in 1936 as mentioned under the title "Tell Your Children" and was originally directed by Louis J. Gasnier. The film was funded by a church group and was made with the intention to warn parents of the time of the misinformed dangers of weed. But in 1938 exploitation director Dwain Esper purchased the film and recut it to sell it as an exploitation movie under its better known title "Reefer Madness". The film went under the radar until the 1970s where it started gaining an audience who enjoyed laughable movies. And has since grown an even larger audience. In that time the movie has been adapted to the stage as a musical and the movie was remade and combined with elements of the musical called Reefer Madness the Musical Movie (2005). You can easily find this movie on YouTube in several different iterations in both black and white and color as well as being able to watch the movie in full on its own Wikipedia page.

All in all I give this movie 1 skull out of 5. It's a hokey hilarious movie, but please, don't watch it sober. Smoke a joint and enjoy the ride. Steve says; Soda? I never drink the stuff!

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The Love Bug (1997)

 

Herbie! You guys remember Herbie right? The Disney film series? About the sentient VW Bug that loves to race? The film series Disney really tried to make a thing and people only remember like… two movies. Well here’s one of the sequels! Okay to not be entirely cynical, The Love Bug (1968) was one of the several movies Disney made with actor Dean Jones, along with fellow bonkers plot movie That Darn Cat (1965) both, funny enough, directed by Robert Stevenson. It was a huge critical and box office success, raking in a whopping $51 million against a $5 million budget and becoming one of the highest grossing films of 1969. It garnered a few sequels; Herbie Rides Again (1974), Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), and Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). The movie we’re going to be talking about is a made for TV sequel that aired in 1997 starring the groovy chin himself Bruce Campbell with a cameo by original star Dean Jones. Funny enough in 1997 That Darn Cat got a remake… that also had a cameo by Dean Jones… Coincidence? I think so!

Bruce Campbell plays Hank Cooper, a down on his luck racecar driver turned down on his luck mechanic who wants his chance to be at the top. Hank is accompanied by his artist friend Roddy played by Kevin J. O'Connor who is two joints short of being fully baked and Hank's ex-girlfriend Alex Davis played by Alexandra Wentworth, a sports writer who serves as Hank’s love interest. Hank picks up and races Herbie in a fix-it race for amateur racecar driver, where he wins because Herbie is a god in car form. The villain of the movie is Simon Moore III played by John Hannah, best known as Jonathan from The Mummy (1999) who plays a delightfully hammy villain that matches the same machismo energy that Campbell brings. This is also the first movie, to my knowledge I‘ve never seen the Herbie sequels, to explore the origins of Herbie. He was invented by German scientist Dr. Gustav Stumpfel played by Harold Gould. Turns out Herbie was made by order of the American Government and gained sentience by the power of true love. Simon Moore forces Dr. Stumpfel to make a twin car, an evil version of Herbie named Horace. Moore also orders his lackey to destroy Herbie that leads Hank and company to hold a funeral for him. A Herbie film with a funeral scene sounds ridiculous but it’s delivered so earnestly. In a moment that rivals Nick Fury in the early MCU days, Dean Jones reprises his role as Jim Douglas from the first movie, and along with Dr. Stumpfel, they rebuild Herbie and challenge Simon Moore to a race. Hank, of course, wins, and Horace is destroyed in the process. Ending with Hand getting back together with Alex and riding off into the sunset.

The Love Bug (1997) isn’t an entirely noteworthy film. It aired on TV as part of The Wonderful World of Disney anthology series, which by the late 90s was producing tons of made for tv live action films, and has only ever received a VHS release. The version I found on YouTube was a VHS rip and included the pre-movie trailers. Remember 102 Dalmatians(2000)? Or Disney’s take on The Miracle Worker(2000)? It’s enjoyable enough, but the movie holds Bruce Campbell back from going full Bruce Campbell but when he throws a quip or a one-liner it does get a chuckle, and John Hannah chews every scene he’s in. I found it very interesting that the creation of Horace mirrored Christine(1983). I want to make a special note of Mickey Dolenz who plays Donny Shotz, a big Texan car parts guy. He’s funny in his scenes but he’s sorely not in a lot of them. The few shots of CG used in the movie has aged like milk. It was the late ‘90s and CG was nothing like it was in the early to mid 2000s but it’s used sparingly and it's not on screen for very long. 

All in all this movie wasn’t great, but it wasn’t awful. It’s inoffensive. I first learned of this movie through a Bruce Campbell meme page on Facebook who made a post about it. I saw the post once but it lingered with me for the longest time and I had to review it. If you ever feel the need to see this movie, its easily available on YouTube via VHS rips. I give this movie two skulls out of five. Steve says; GRENADE!?

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Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)

 

Plan 9 from Outer Space. Plan 9... from Outer Space... What can I say about this movie? Well, more likely, what can I say that hasn't already been said? Released in 1957, Plan 9 is a fantastically bad movie that single handedly kickstarted the scale of how bad a movie can be. From the writing to the directing to the special effects. This movie is considered the worst movie ever made. But is it really? I mean, on a technical level yes it is. It is incredibly bad. But is it as bad as people say? Let's look into it.

The plot is paper thin. As all schlocky sci-fi is. Introduced by The Amazing Criswell who spouts nonsense about future events happening in the future. The movie is about aliens Eros and Tanna (Dudley Manlove and Joanna Lee) who want to take over the earth so they use a mysterious "Plan 9" that involves using electro waves to revive and control the dead. These aliens constantly coming to Earth catches the attention of the government and airline pilot Jeff Trent (Gregory Walcott). At the same time, the dead rising from the grave catches the attention of the police, and especially Inspector Clay (Tor Johnson) who joins the dead. The dead include that of Vampire Girl (Vampira), The Ghoul Man (Bela Lugosi) and Inspector Clay himself. When the aliens land in the graveyard for the 50th time, Jeff and military company go to stop the aliens. The movie ultimately ends with the dead dying again, and the aliens exploding. It is a very simple plot, but at the same time, it's also incredibly complex.

Directed and written by the maestro of schlock Edward D. Wood Jr. The movie was made on a very small shoestring budget of $60,000. And he secured that by tricking a Church into financing it. The writing is the hokiest, out of this world nonsense you could imagine. A police officer who constantly points his gun at everything like he's Chief Wiggum. The random inserts of Bela Lugosi, which was just stock footage from an unfinished movie called The Ghoul Goes West. Lugosi had passed away during the production of the movie and to make up for one of the main actors not being there anymore Wood hired his chiropractor to stand in for the late Lugosi. Ending in the obvious shots of a very much not Bela Lugosi (Tom Mason) with a cape over his face. The random appearance of TV horror host Vampira. And the legendary facial expressions of Tor Johnson. Combine all that with sets constructed out of cheap materials on obvious soundstages. The space ship being a literal car's hubcap on a fishing wire. Cheap sets, cheap special effects. Writing that makes the writing in Debbie Does Dallas seem Oscar worthy. But there's something that rises about it all. Ed Wood was passionate. He didn't care if he didn't have a budget, he'd make a movie anyway. He loved movies and loved making them. It didn't matter what stood in his way or what limitations he had. That is passion you rarely see in filmmakers. He truly loved movies. His other accomplishments include that of Bride of the Monster (1955), Glen or Glenda (1953), Night of the Ghouls (1958), and a number of adult films just to make ends meet. Ed Wood didn't make it rich, but I feel he would smile if he knew people still enjoy his movies to this day.

The movie has since gone down as the worst movie ever made. But its not without its remakes. Yes, Plan 9 got a remake. And it sucks. Plan 9 (2015) made an attempt to make Plan 9 from Outer Space but better. Its tagline is even "The movie Ed Wood wishes he could've made." It's one of those "bad on purpose" movies. And that's why its bad. It tries so hard to keep the spirit of Plan 9's awfulness while winking and nudging and going "Eh? See? We're bad but we have a bigger budget." And that's where it fails. It's like remaking The Room (2003) into a serious drama. The movie falls flat if you take out what made it so bad. It's good in the first place. The Room isn't The Room without Tommy Wiseau's alien acting and gigantic ego. And Plan 9 isn't Plan 9 without the direction of Ed Wood. If you want more information on this movie and on Ed Wood's life look up the documentary Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The 'Plan 9' Companion (1992).

All in all, I love this movie. It is unbearably bad, but it's earnest in every aspect of its production. You can see all the effort on screen. For good and for bad. I give this movie 1 skull out of 5. Steve says Future events like these will happen in the future.

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