mothfodder Reviews

Night Gallery (1969–1973)

Rod Serling's Wings

[7/10 · 14 December 2006]

We all know who Paul McCartney is. He was one of the leaders of the biggest, best bands in history, The Beatles. And we all know - or most of us know - who Rod Serling is. He was the host, and writer and creator of one of the greatest television shows in history, The Twilight Zone. After McCartney left The Beatles he formed a band called Wings. This band was, for the most part, just all right. The music wasn't too bad. It wasn't great, it wasn't horrible. It was good, if you were in the mood for it. You could hear some of The Beatles' aura in Wings - especially because of the vocals. And now to the point... Listening to Wings with the Beatles in mind is the same feeling you get when watching Night Gallery with The Twilight Zone in mind. It's not bad. Feels the same on occasion, and Rod's creativity, as well as his hosting presence, is... present. But there's something missing. Perhaps it's the originality, or the style. Perhaps it's because of the color of the Gallery episodes, that shed too much light on a world that's better off bleak and mysterious. Something about Zone's black & white made it that much more classically eerie. But there are a few pretty good (above average) episodes of Night Gallery, especially in the first season. The first three of four episodes in the pilot are entertaining, one directed by Steven Spielberg featuring the iconic Joan Crawford as a blind woman who wants her sight back. Another with Roddy McDowell as a greedy heir being haunted by a changing portrait of a cemetery outside his mansion. But some other episodes get lost in their own sense of strangeness. They just don't pan out in the end. And the main thing that separates Gallery from Zone is the climax. There is nothing better than a those great Zone endings. They stop right as the character is entering his or her own doom that they, usually, brought upon themselves. But Gallery, in going that step further and often resolving the dilemmas (either the main character getting too punished, or being completely pardoned somehow), in doing so goes a bit too far, and the pay off isn't there. We get a bit too much information. Often the Gallery episodes run about five minutes longer than they should. But, all in all, The Night Gallery is enjoyable. Like Zone it makes good of some great actors, sometimes making great of some good actors, and there is plenty of creativity to go around. You might be let down now and again, but rarely will you not be entertained. After all, that's what it's about - entertainment.

Superdad (1973)

A Creepy Mess

[4/10 · 12 December 2006]

I don't know what it is about this movie but it's creepy. I don't think it's because of Bob Crane's real life escapades, I think it's just that the whole concept of a girl wanting to marry a man like her father is just plain strange. If it happens accidentally, as it often does, okay, fine, but to set out with this mission is, creepy. That's the core of this film's plot, and Bob Crane tries hard to keep his daughter from marrying a flaky loser and tries to get her to be a sophisticated woman. I had thought this film would center on the dad trying too hard to keep up with the kids. The water-skiing scene was the one I'd always tied this movie with (even in the film AUTO FOCUS a redo of this scene made me curious to watch this film). But that whole "bit" lasted about ten minutes. Dad tries to be one of the gang, fails, and then he's just a bitter old man again. Bob Crane's performance is boring and angry, and guess what folks, here comes a surprise; Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn and Dick Van Patten co-star in this, a Disney film. It's fun to see a young Ed Begely Jr. and Bruno Kirby Jr. (both sons of character actors). Bruno's voice sounds a bit like Mickey Mouse; perhaps that's how he landed the role. Well, in a nutshell, this film is a real mess. Doesn't know what it wants to be. The whole subplot about the "evil" hippie painter "Klutch" is really, really horrific. Avoid at all costs.

Big Bad Mama (1974)

a fun romp ruined by political agenda

[5/10 · 12 November 2006]

I was so enjoying this film. I had rented two films, both from the seventies, one a big budget comedy and then this low budget Corman show. I hated the big budget and loved this one, until the political demon started barking up the plot's far-left sleeve. The heart on the sleeve, that is. I mean, we all enjoy watching films when the rich are being taken from, and the poor get to steal it. That's the basis of all crime movies and why we like them; and why we root for the bad guys so much. But this movie actually mentions such things, and they are mentioned by the "filthy rich", and you can tell when certain lines are uttered, they're in it for a reason other than dialog/conversation. In one scene a rich guy at a party mentions about how bad taxes are because they "tax the rich" (as if the rich are the only ones taxed), in another a guy gives a speech about how bad socialism is: both characters are filthy disgusting villainous types and are made to look stupid. And in the end, or towards the end of the film, a rich girl with an inheritance is kidnapped by the main characters who'd been having a blast robbing banks before, and from that point the movie goes from a fun romp into a mean spirited film with social envy written all over it. Oh well. For an hour I had fun. Till it all started getting see-through. And then, I saw through. As usual. Pity too. I love watching movies. I just wish they'd all keep their agenda to themselves or else better obscured so that we can all enjoy ourselves, not just those in the blue states.