Wednesday, August 27, 2014

904 - Werewolf

First Broadcast - 5 pm Saturday, April 18th 1998


#22 in Mighty Jack's Top 100
Amazing Colossal Grade: "This is absolutely fascinating" - Natalie (amen to that, and great line reading btw)
Movie Pain: Medium - A production so screwed-up it's funny
Riffing: I laughed so hard I wet 'em!
Skits: Cute (and the girl group bit is a classic)


Kevin Murphy called this furball a "Gift from God" and it's easy to see why. Goofy doesn't begin to describe "Werewolf" (which takes itself far too seriously). Where to start, hmm... 

The Actors? Fan favorite Joe Estevez -who Servo compares to a chia pet- looks as if he'll be the focus of the film, but then he disappears and is replaced by... Yuri - He of the ever-changing hair and odd habit of infecting people with wolf cooties. Then there's marble-mouthed Natalie whose vapid delivery and pronunciation is another treasure to behold. And of course, there's some guy named Paul.

Cinematic Delights? The scenes with Yuri and Security Guard Vic - For one, a werewolf behind the wheel is right up there with Toonces the driving cat for all-out hilarity. Second, notice how they pass by the same gas station over and over again. Apparently, this town is only a block long or they've designed their streets to look exactly the same. Third, barrels suddenly appear out of nowhere and attack the car.

Need another? How about Paul's first pangs of wolfhood, the guys have a gas with this one Crow: "Oh if I could only fart!" Paul's expression and body language make this all the funnier. Later, Mike observes that Imodium AD is all that's needed to cure a werewolf. The fun doesn't end there, I haven't even mentioned Groundskeeper Sam, the cheap wolf costumes, and the surprise ending which surprises no one. The movie keeps setting them up and M&TB just knock 'em down. Great flick, great riffing.

Host Segments
Intro: Mike thinks he's James Lipton. Segment 1: Mike's escape attempt takes him to Pearl's lair. Segment 2: Who would you want in your werewolf movie? Segment 3: M&TB are a girl group who sing, "Where, Oh, Werewolf". Segment 4: Mike turns into a Werecrow. End: Mike's transformation is complete, and Pearl needs a wolf for her experiment but all Bobo can find is a cute puppy. Stinger: Natalie looks absolutely fascinated



Notable Riffs
"He's Vunderful" - Mike as Natalie on Sam
"Hey, I got something" - "It's Ron!" - Archaeologist/Crow
"There's just so much litter on the highway" - Crow as crying guy.
"Skinwalkers" - "Texas Skin Ranger" - Noel/Mike
"...he takes on a series of strange body habits" - "Wears toast in his pants" - Noel/Crow
"What was that?" - "I have small dogs in my hair, sorry" - Natalie/Crow as Yuri
"I'm sorry I broke your Hanson tape" - Crow
"I question gluing crepe hair to his face Nurse, but you seem to know what you're doing" - Crow as Doctor
"This is a strange remake of Jane Eyre." - Crow
"There goes another one! Man, the pool cue budget must be enormous" - Mike
"Ok, stop - Everyone go up a shirt size." - Crow
"That was the sound of the director getting up and leaving." - Crow
"So, his plan is to rid the world of security guards by changing them into werewolves one by one and then having them crash their cars." - "Well, uh, it seems to be working so far; you can't fault him on that." - Crow/Mike
"Not a good sign when the action in your movie is upstaged by a mural." - Crow
"I'll drink to that" - "But I'll drink to lint, though, so it's nothing special." - Security Guard/Crow
"You know, it's economical not to have a storyline, 'cause then you can just film people saying things." - Crow
"It's Martin, shoot to kill then I could be in Spawn!" - Crow as Joe Estevez
"Did you know your Grandpa smells like Beefaroni?" - Crow
"Paul..." - "I enjoyed your letter to the Philippians" - Natalie/Mike
"I see some really stupid children being born as a result of these two meeting." - Servo
"Suddenly she's a medieval wench" - Crow
"He turned into beets? How horrible" - Servo
"Chubby Ramone" - Mike
"I'm dreaming of slimy cat puppets" - Crow
"Werewolf?" - "No I'm a squirrel monkey, of course, I'm a..." - Sam/Crow
"Paul, is you at this place?" - Mike as Natalie


Riff Explained
"Louis Leakey in "Every Which Way But Loose" - Crow
Clever riff is said during the fight at the dig. Leakey is a famed archaeologist, "Every Which Way..." is a Clint Eastwood movie highlighted by lots of fistfights.

"Eh, try believing in ESL for a while" - Servo
Funny riff when you know that ESL stands for "English as a Second Language"

Stuff and Nonsense
* Jorge Rivero (Yuri) co-starred with John Wayne in Howard Hawks, "Rio Bravo". And made his debut in one of those Mexican 'masked wrestler' flicks.

* Producer, screenwriter, and director Tony Zarindast also gave himself the best part in the movie. He was the hard-drinking, barrel-hitting Security Guard.

* Was shown as part of Livestream V, for the 2021 Kickstarter campaign. Special guest Bill Corbett joined Joel, Matt, Hampton, Jonah, and Nate.



Available on DVD: Volume 13


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