#37 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release Date: December 19, 2006
Riffer: Mike Nelson
“Depressed yet?” - Mike as Narrator
This 20 minute Christmas special from Rankin/Bass is a gas and the work-over it receives ranks right up there with the MST3K Christmas episodes in terms of pure comedic gold. But dark; Whoo-wee, Mike is harsh but hysterical. Some of Nelson's best biting remarks include pointing out that Elves are drunken half-wits, and that God's mission for Nestor includes running a package out of Mexico. ROFLMA!! The sections where he tackles Roger Miller's inane tune, left this songwriter in stitches. This is an instant classic. A non-stop riot and highly recommended.
#47 in Mighty Jack's Top 50
Release Date: August 7th, 2012
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"So far this thing has way more laughs than Nacho Libre" - Kevin
I don't know if the funniest thing in this Rifftrax release was the riffing, or the movie – I do know that I laughed myself silly, and much of it was due to the masked wrestlers and the cartoonish dubbed voices. The highlight of the film is the villainous Doctor Caronte, and his unibrowed tiny sidekick, Nick. Nick is a joy, it's as if Torgo and Ortega had a baby! I love the voices they gave Nick and Dr. Caronte, and I love how the two hold hands as they wander around the lab and conduct their mad experiments. On the side of right are Neutron and a Professor (who keeps trying to figure out the wrestling hero's secret identity) and a cop who shouts "YIKES!” when he's startled. The riffing? I don't know that it's their best material, but it does the job, and there are several superb zingers -- the Beatles fanatic in me for example, loved Bill's quip during a mad chase... "This is fun, it's like we're in "A Hard Days Night!""
Release Date: October 16, 2007
Riffers: Mike and Bridget Nelson
"It's just not the same without Colonel Glen Manning in a diaper" – Mike upon seeing Las Vegas
Mike and Bridget were stellar in their assault on “Grey’s Anatomy” and at the start, I thought they’d be able to equal that effort. The opening bit where Bridget can’t wrap her brain around the idea of Nic Cage playing the hero is a gem. And Mike gets one of the biggest laughs of this or any ‘Trax when he makes mention of Bridget’s Easter outfit.
But most of this movie is met with even, though not spectacular quips. There are cute riffs; the lines about Peter Faulk, Mike’s marriage proposal, Gary Liberace, Bridget Mustard, and I especially like how Bridget draws back for some obscure reference material, such as the "Icky Shuffle". But overall "Next" is a step down from the hilarity of their work on Greys.
Release Date: October 23rd, 2012
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"I was right, this whole town's gone Psycho" - "Everyone's pretending to be their mothers!" – Wings & Mike
Apparently, someone liked the film "Mutant" (with Wings Hauser and Bo Hopkins) so much that they made a Mutant-like movie with Wings Hauser and Bo Hopkins! And as an added bonus... George Kennedy, who -with his irritable bowels- is about as funny here as he was in "Airplane!" I especially got a kick out of the scene where he goes into action-hero mode to take on the bad guys, and Kevin quips... "Good thing they sent out their fattest, wobbliest warrior."
In their website synopsis, the folks at Rifftrax admit to fixating on croissants with this one, but with good reason. This is a flick that invites fixation - whether it be those loathsome microwavable croissants or a quick round of the, "Where the hell is Floyd?" game. The movie offers up so many laughable scenes and characters that I couldn't help but have a good time, and the guys couldn't help but rip off one hilarious wisecrack after another. Sadly, as with "Mutant", Nooner tails off in its final act. Kennedy dies, there's desert wandering and a protracted helicopter chase, and that makes it tough going for MK&B. While that's not a deal-breaker, it is an unfortunate turn for a trax that was approaching classic status.
Release Date: February 7th, 2014
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
In Mike’s MST3K debut as host, this flick was mentioned as one of his training movies - and it would seem to be one of those that would be money in the comedy bank for Rifftrax. You got a laughable plot about giant killer rabbits, and a cast that includes Janet Leigh and DeForest Kelley. There's even I. Stanford Jolley (Mst3k Rebel Set, as well as the long-winded Judge in the Violent Years) and the guy who played the drunk sheriff from TVs The Rifleman to poke fun at. Should have been gold, sadly it wasn't. All told it was rather flat work. I mean when the best you can level at DeForest are weak comments about his mustache, you've let opportunity pass you by. Bummer.
Night Of The Living Dead
Release Date: February 10, 2009
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"Carl's Jr. is now serving man burgers" - Kevin
I felt the original riffing on this film was Mike's weakest of the Legend releases. Thus, it would have taken a monumental bungle not to have come up with a substantially better 'trax. And substantially better is what was delivered. Mike's least, became Mike, Bill, and Kevin's best effort of the year (on a full-length film). And it's loaded with the newest material of the do-overs so far.
The movie doesn't offer a lot of dialogue, so the guys lean on the observational style quips, and those sections were cute. But the fun really kicks into high when the actors get talking and our trio talks back. Adding lines to the script or mocking what was said provided the biggest laughs. There would be stretches where I'd be chuckling or smiling then "POW!" - the guys would get on a roll and I'd be in hysterics. Booming, shake the rafters type of laughter. I haven't roared that hard on one of their full-length features since the Happening. I don't think this was their most steady, wall-to-wall effort, many riffs fail, but as for providing the big gut busters, NOTLD was aces. Much fun and very highly recommended. (oh, and I haven't mentioned it before, but Bill's "What's Happening" gag never fails to crack me up.
Oceans 11
Release Date: August 26, 2008
Riffers: Mike Nelson & Richard Cheese
“They trained for this by watching Miley Cyruses new DVD, ‘Stacking Your Money Efficiently’” - Richard
Richard Cheese, a name unfamiliar to me, joins Mike on this excursion. I guess he has a comedy lounge act and unfortunately he can add this weak rifftrax to his resume. I liked the first 3 minutes, with Clooney in prison and then leaving (with swing jazz walking music). The first 3 minutes held promise; the remaining 114 spoiled that promise.
Maybe it was that a lot of the jokes were too obvious and simple. I know I have laughed at obvious lines in the past, but these lacked punch. Even when the material was clever, as when Mike takes a poke at gas prices by suggesting that Bernie Mac’s cross country drive would cost him 19 thousand dollars, or later when a guy and a gal get tangled up in the park and he warns “Careful a romantic comedy could break out” – these are cute but not killers.
Generally, I like humor that surprises me, I like humor that’s sharp as a tack... I like humor that makes me laugh out loud, hell I’d have taken humor that at least made me smile! The work on Oceans 11 was greeted by the sounds of silence, not the song but literally my silence. To be fair, I did find a handful of goodies (For example, the quip about gambling theories based on Kenny Roger’s songs) but mostly it was duds. Cheese has a nice voice but his delivery is indistinct and there was little inflection, which made even his best jokes sound bland.
Over the Top
Release Date: February 16, 2007
Riffer: Mike Nelson
“Great! Thanks to this movie I now know what Stallone looks like constipated!”
Over the Top, a Sly Stallone melodrama, which Mike riffs solo, fits into that middle groove. Not one of my top 10, but with laughs aplenty. I enjoyed the jabs at the beard and suspenders early on, and the smack-down put on the film's big finish is stellar stuff.
The movie's premise is predictable (The estranged father/son dynamic) and damn silly (its feeble attempt to convince us that arm wrestling is somehow compelling). There are Kenny Loggins laced montages and insipid pep talks (You gotta take what you want – and Mike illustrates the absurdity of such a blanket statement nicely). The whole wrestling/trucking theme is flayed to perfection (“You just lowered my income potential”) with Stallone impressions, references to Brute cologne, and parallels to “Road House” all helping in the plus department.
The minuses are few. Mike repeats a nose hair line within the span of a few seconds and while the first Lindsey Lohan quip was a riot, the second felt like desperation. Nevertheless, when you tally up the pros and cons, Over the Top is, for the most part, a success. Especially with that cute callback to “Megaweapon”; heck, even Disembaudio gets in a few solid shots. But, I still wish they would have done something funny with the “double elimination” theme. (Sarcasm intended)
Release Date: August 26, 2008
Riffers: Mike Nelson & Richard Cheese
“They trained for this by watching Miley Cyruses new DVD, ‘Stacking Your Money Efficiently’” - Richard
Richard Cheese, a name unfamiliar to me, joins Mike on this excursion. I guess he has a comedy lounge act and unfortunately he can add this weak rifftrax to his resume. I liked the first 3 minutes, with Clooney in prison and then leaving (with swing jazz walking music). The first 3 minutes held promise; the remaining 114 spoiled that promise.
Maybe it was that a lot of the jokes were too obvious and simple. I know I have laughed at obvious lines in the past, but these lacked punch. Even when the material was clever, as when Mike takes a poke at gas prices by suggesting that Bernie Mac’s cross country drive would cost him 19 thousand dollars, or later when a guy and a gal get tangled up in the park and he warns “Careful a romantic comedy could break out” – these are cute but not killers.
Generally, I like humor that surprises me, I like humor that’s sharp as a tack... I like humor that makes me laugh out loud, hell I’d have taken humor that at least made me smile! The work on Oceans 11 was greeted by the sounds of silence, not the song but literally my silence. To be fair, I did find a handful of goodies (For example, the quip about gambling theories based on Kenny Roger’s songs) but mostly it was duds. Cheese has a nice voice but his delivery is indistinct and there was little inflection, which made even his best jokes sound bland.
Release Date: February 16, 2007
Riffer: Mike Nelson
“Great! Thanks to this movie I now know what Stallone looks like constipated!”
Over the Top, a Sly Stallone melodrama, which Mike riffs solo, fits into that middle groove. Not one of my top 10, but with laughs aplenty. I enjoyed the jabs at the beard and suspenders early on, and the smack-down put on the film's big finish is stellar stuff.
The movie's premise is predictable (The estranged father/son dynamic) and damn silly (its feeble attempt to convince us that arm wrestling is somehow compelling). There are Kenny Loggins laced montages and insipid pep talks (You gotta take what you want – and Mike illustrates the absurdity of such a blanket statement nicely). The whole wrestling/trucking theme is flayed to perfection (“You just lowered my income potential”) with Stallone impressions, references to Brute cologne, and parallels to “Road House” all helping in the plus department.
The minuses are few. Mike repeats a nose hair line within the span of a few seconds and while the first Lindsey Lohan quip was a riot, the second felt like desperation. Nevertheless, when you tally up the pros and cons, Over the Top is, for the most part, a success. Especially with that cute callback to “Megaweapon”; heck, even Disembaudio gets in a few solid shots. But, I still wish they would have done something funny with the “double elimination” theme. (Sarcasm intended)
