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Monday, 22 February, 2010 5:56 PM
Review: Cinematic
Titanic soars by bench-pressing celluloid eyesore
Photo
Credit: www.cinematictitanic.com
ROYAL
OAK, Mich. -- On Friday evening, the movie-riffing comedy
troupe Cinematic Titanic delivered a pre-scheduled encore in the
Royal Oak Music Theatre with their panning presentation of the sword-and-sandal
themed Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World. It served
as a follow-up to the earlier riffing of War of the Insects,
which was described as setting itself up for well-prepared quips.
“Watching
the movie a couple of times to come up with lines makes it better,”
said Demetrios, a bartender working on the venue’s balcony
level. As the film progressed, there were riffs either blatant based
on what’s happening onscreen or up to date with recent events
that were evidence of this.
For those
unfamiliar with the group’s TV show predecessor, Mystery
Science Theater 3000, Cinematic Titanic’s name alone
would likely suggest something more stage based. One bathroom attendant
even thought the show had more to do with a boat setting.
The show’s
warm-up activities began with Mary Jo Pehl, who played Pearl Forrester
on MST3K, introducing associate act Dave “Gruber”
Allen with help from a Wikipedia article (a gag given away by the
uttered inclusion of “This article needs additional citations.”)
Allen would
continue this gag by reading off advertising for the event itself,
right down to the naming of sponsors. “You guys like sugar,
right?” he asked of the audience. “Quit dicking around
and have some Skittles.”
Soon, J.
Elvis Weinstein, the original voice of MST3K’s Tom
Servo, joined Allen for a song centered on the hook that “Nobody
likes a clown when he’s crying.”
The main
show began when MST3K creator Joel Hodgson appeared. He
praised the audience for helping to maintain the original show’s
legacy for so long. “The great thing about Mystery Science
Theater fans is their attention span,” Hodgson said. “You
not only watched a show that was two hours long, you still watch
it [ten] years later.”
With the
rest of the group introduced, the movie diss-course was
underway. The film itself, a renamed import from the Maciste-strongman
genre, centered on the disturbingly scantily clad Samson moseying
through the Chinese countryside when he becomes involved in thwarting
an evil ruler’s scheme to overtake the intentions of a young
princess and a rather Caucasian rebel leader. Under threat from
the villains, Samson and his friends manage to undertake their endeavors
through the hospitality of, as Joel puts it, “A herd of Lamas.”
As the plot
fills itself out for the crew and the audience, its presentation
seems to fit the ideal of bad strongman films that highlighted MST3K
episodes from long ago. For most of the film, the sound on
screen became too faint for occasional dialogue to be heard by the
audience.
As for the
visual display, the most jumped-on issue was a series of blackouts
while action progressed, which were merely a case of the lens cap
being left on, according to Trace Beaulieu (who played Dr. Clayton
Forrester on MST3K). Even when it appeared that the cap
was taken off, the film looked as though it relied on enough natural
lighting to make McCabe and Mrs. Miller as bright as Dick
Tracy.
Even with
such setbacks, the film continues the spirit of every other strongman
feature, shown on MST3K before it, by racking up Samson’s
beat down of man, beast, and even plant life (when he uproots a
tree to shake out snipers). It was when Samson was set on his motive
that the troupe was set on frequenting the riffs.
It got to
the point that Samson was literally involved in a bench-clearing
brawl with a bench, which group endorsed as being “brought
to you by the letter T.”
Even from
the beginning of the film, no topic was safe as the group threw
in everything from expected Monty Python quotes to a note on the
recent Tiger Woods sex scandal.
But even
as the Cinematic Titanic group seemed to be moving at a five-riffs-a-minute
pace well past
midnight, the small audience managed to keep up well enough to leave
the riffers giggling back at its reactions on several occasions.
This matter
of quick and loud audience response would receive one closing crest
of cheers and applause as an earthquake struck onscreen during the
climax. While Samson manages to shake up the cameras from underneath,
Joel and the gang managed to entice the viewers one more time with
a callback that was one of MST3K’s most enduring
taglines: “We’ve got movie sign!”
Despite
the technical setbacks that were part of the film and perhaps in
addition to it, Cinematic Titanic’s delivery was successful
that night by doing what they’ve done for decades: using quick
tongues and witty outbursts to set a trend of jest that can guide
viewers through any storyline anarchy like that which was displayed
from late night into early morning.
Related
Story: Joel
Hodgson provides glimpse into Cinematic Titanic's upcoming stop
Photo
credit: Joshua Targownik
Cast
members on the Cinematic Titanic
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