#3 in Mighty Jack's Top 50 (Ranking is for series in total)
Release Date: April 21, 2009
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"He looks like the love child of Matthew Perry and Powder" – Bill on Edward
Twilight is overflowing with pale teen angst. It's the perfect vehicle for a riffing and MK&B take full advantage of this fact. They zero in on the characters and never let up. There's excessively blinking Bella, who, as Kevin says, makes Sylvia Plath seem like Cyndi Lauper. And Edward the vampire, our riffers really have a blast with this guy. Mike compares his face to a hideous, effeminate, pale James Dean mask and Bill got me laughing when he notices Ed riffing on Christopher Walken.
Among the many sharp observational quips, there's a line about Biology being the only class in school and how the script is loaded with trembly, half-spoken sentences. References were cute (Mike imitating the Father from "So I Married an Axe Murder" during the giant head scene). I could spend this entire review listing quotes... yes, it's that funny. In truth I found it to be the best trax of the year and one of my favorites from the Rifftrax catalog overall. The hours were filled with the sound of my hearty laughter, both from the silly film and the silly riffing. Highly recommended.
Release Date: March 19, 2010
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"He's doing his impression of the millions of boyfriends who had to sit through this movie – Mike
New Moon was arguably one of the most anticipated Rifftrax in the history of Rifftrax. After all, Twilight was the stuff of legend, one of the classics. Who wouldn't want more of that comedic richness? I didn’t expect the sequel to match it. Primarily because I knew the breathless joy of discovery would be missing. I'm familiar with these characters' ticks and mannerisms, as well as the way MK&B will skewer them. Despite this handicap, New Moon is freaking hilarious.
The movie provides a few new twists to tease, such as Edward in vapor form and the addition of Dakota Fanning to the cast – each one inspiring sparkling quips. I also enjoyed the old standbys… "line?" (the way the guys tease the pauses at the end of the film is cute) and got a kick out of the fresh spin put on the old, "Does this bug you, I'm not touching you" bit. Our lead actors are prime riff material, I especially love Bill's jab at Bella after she takes a dip in the Ocean, and his singing "Casper the unhealthily co-dependent ghost", for Edward. Throw in some fun references (quoting Queen and Pee Wee Herman) and Rifftrax has themselves another gem.
Release Date: December 3rd, 2010
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"Werewolf humor, just a step above that of the Germans" - Mike
Yay, it's Twilight time! Repetition can be the bane of the series trax, and as brilliant as the Twilight series is, it isn't immune to this. Some of the jokes (mocking Charlie's mustache to name one) aren't as fresh – but I can live with that, because -after a slow start- the guys get on a roll and hit it out of the park.
Killer quips include Bill's line during a spiritual wolf campfire... ”Some call it whiskey but we call it magic” - or Mike's riff when Jacob gives Bella a handmade gift... ”I glued a keyring to an animal cracker”. And I can't forget Kevin, not when he gave voice to my new favorite quote... “I always knew infants were assholes!” And some of the repetition still clicks (as when they point out Bella's inexplicable appeal to the men in this movie). While the movie doesn't have Edward in gaseous form, there is superhuman, human blood, and a lame end battle to tease. Despite some repetition, I felt like I got my money’s worth. Yup, keep bringing on the vampires.
Release Date: February 23rd, 2012
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"Also, my Bible just burst into flame for some reason" – Bill as Preacher, during wedding vows
While there are too many fart jokes and times when they simply yell and bitch about the movie. When they set their minds to quipping instead of complaining, there's plenty of funny to enjoy. Each film in this series has offered something freshly stupid – and here we get a wedding, a pregnancy, and talking werewolves. But that's not all, there's one final delicious plot point near the end -involving Jacob- that is the end-all, be all. While I'm ranking this 5th among the Twilight trax. It's still a highly enjoyable entry.
Release Date: March 14th, 2013
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"Line..." - One and all
And the series ends with a bang! From the very start, I was in stitches. Especially with the quips directed at digital baby, and Jacob's special bond to that youngster. And laughter is a guarantee with when you got Volturi. They are a camp comedy gold mine.
One thing I appreciated with this release is that MK&B didn't overplay familiar jokes - only pulling them out at the most opportune time -- most hysterically with the epic "line" to end all "lines" near the end. Indeed, I'm going to miss this absurd series. From it, Rifftrax created comedy that was comparable to what was had during the glory days of MST3K. Thankfully Stephenie Meyer's has kept to her scribbling and a new sci-fi flick titled The Host will hit theaters soon. So you're not out of the woods yet guys. I only hope it is as sweet as this run has been
