Release Date: November 1, 2006
Riffers: Mike Nelson & Kevin Murphy
"So George Lucas is a 4-year-old right? That’s the only
explanation for what we just saw" - Kevin
The kid gloves
are off right from the opening sequence as Mike and Kevin gleefully blast the
offensive stereotypical characters by making notably non-pc jokes -imitating
the Japanese accents: "She crazy, she eat a Browfish for runch!" -
Mike; call out the lack of logic -Kevin wonders why a holographic figure didn’t
hologram himself into a room to make sure for himself that the Jedi were dead-
and give a royal bitch-slap on all the silly, childish names that infest
this entire flick.
...and then
there's Jar Jar (Who bugs Kevin’s soul). As Mike accurately observes -"10
minutes in, Lucas has already whizzed this movie away"- This flick is a
disaster, a horrid, infantile mess; stuffed to the gills with dull negotiation
and dinner scenes and acting so pathetic it sets my teeth on edge. The boy who
plays Anakin is so wretched that Mike wonders if he was created by puppeteer,
Frank Oz - and Kevin is suitably creeped out by the knowledge that this little
kid and Natalie Portman will be… ”Humping like monkeys” in the next film.
EEEW!
This is a
bitingly funny rifftrax, but the biggest laugh came from the simplest, most
straightforward quip. It’s when Jar Jar finally grates on Mike to the point
where he simply shouts, ”Look, Go to Hell!” It’s something we all, in our
heart of hearts, have wanted to say to this entire movie.
Release Date: April 6, 2007
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Chad Vader
"Wow, Mike that was incredibly uninteresting. What else
won't happen?" - Kevin
Attack of the
Clones offers more of the same kind of riff-work heard in episode 1: Mike and
Kevin continue their assault on Lucas' childish, ham-fisted techniques
-"Ahh, the dialog crackles like... pudding" - Mike. The silly names
(Schmee, Schmoo, Schmuppy) and stupid-looking aliens (There are ones who look
like a cow, a phallus, and Satan) are all riffed well. As are the quips directed
at the guy playing Anikin (Was it Lucas' desire to hire really crappy actors to
play this part?)
What was
different this go-round was the addition of someone named "Chad
Vader" - The whole Chad thing was clever: Though his contributions didn't
tickle me early on; his comments improved as the film unfolded.
The bits with
Anikin made me laugh the most. The trio were especially good during the
sequences where he returns home to save his mother. And I liked how they attack
his broad, melodramatic and often childish manner -Anikin: "But I am grown
up" - Mike: "Can I have a juice box?"- Also, I enjoyed most of
the quips directed at Yoda during the final battles.
In short: Though
I'm getting a little tired of the duo's heavy reliance on fart and poop jokes
(and what's with all the Arby's quips of late?), overall this was one heck of
an enjoyable release. And for more with Chad, Mike and Kevin, check this out...
Youtube
Release Date: September 25, 2009
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"You're right R2, it did look like a peep in a
microwave" - Bill as Obi after Anikin burns
One would think
that the guys would be running out of material on this, their third attack on
the Star Wars franchise. And yet, no matter how often I hear them make fun of
the stupid names and silly costumes it never gets old (On the negative - what
did get old were the comments about guys on the toilet!)
Of particular
enjoyment were the Yoda jokes and imitations. I really found myself cracking up
during a meeting between the short green one and the future Mr. Vader. Also very
funny were the jabs at the wrinkled, pompous old bad guy, and the running gag
where they bleep out Samuel L. Jackson swearing out his dialog. Oh, and Bill
makes this quip about a couple guys sitting in theater seats... beauty eh!
I’m really, really
sick of these movies. But I really, really have enjoyed the hammering
they've received at the hands of Mike, Kevin and -joining them for the first
time on a SW flick- Bill. Richly deserved knocks at the script, direction and
acting are all nicely delivered. Though I feel this doesn't match the work on
Episode I, it was still pretty darn good.
Release Date: December 10, 2007
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"It's a unique idea watching a farm animal open a
present. I'm not sure I’d build a whole show around it, but it is unique"
– Bill
An insult to the
intelligence of every human on the planet, this horrible, horrible TV special
concerns Chewbacca trying to get home for Life Day. And its main purpose for
being seems to be to humiliate anyone involved with the project. No actor gets
out of this with his or her dignity intact.
The riffing runs
lukewarm with a few hot spots; as when Bill makes his clever observation that
even comedian Rip Taylor would feel this special had gone overboard on the
camp. It also hit comedy highs during the scenes when Chewbacca's grandpa is
getting turned on while watching a music video, and after, during Carrie
Fisher's first appearance.
When used, the
reference material is varied and clever, from Phoebe Cates getting out of the
pool to German mathematician David Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel and a
cute "don’t taze me bro!" Those were good, but some of the biggest
guffaws I received were due to the fact that the guys actually get to quip on
some old 70s commercials! Although I didn't find this Trax a rip-roaring laugh
riot, those moments of hilarity helped ease the pain of sitting through this
idiotic special and make it well worth watching.
Release Date: December 30, 2008
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
The gang has done
well with this franchise in the past, unfortunately, the first, er, or is this
the 4th? Proves to be their undoing. This simply isn't very funny to me. It's
loaded with cheap and childish jokes and old material that's been done to death
("This reminds me of my family", etc - Funny but wearing thin here)
I received a handful of laughs, about Luke's whining and R2D2's lack of flying to name two,
and Bill gets the best line comparing the force to cosmic duct tape. There are
some funny bits at the end, a few chuckles over a guy named Porkins and the
medal ceremony was probably the best part of the entire 'trax. But it's overall
weak, very weak.
A week ago I
watched a Star Wars iriff from a group calling themselves "Blame
Society". It was no great shakes either and the folks there can't match
the delivery and character of Mike, Bill and Kevin's voices. Still, the jokes for the Mos Eisley sequences were far
better by comparison (The bit with Obi-Wan talking to the Storm Troopers, the
Greedo as Koosh Ball head).
Release Date: April 14, 2009
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett & Chad
Vader
"So this is what Grover looks like when you shave
him" – Bill on Yoda
Star Wars: A New
Hope was one of my least favorite trax, devoid of great wit, the laughs were
few. The follow-up is significantly better. The trax starts off slow, with my
first big laugh coming during the scene when sister kisses brother - and later
when Chad Vader sings a happy bunny song. From then on I received several belly
busters over the C3PO and Gilbert Godfried imitations - talk of suicide pills,
man diapers and irritating bits of dialog (as when R2D2 slips into a bog and
Luke cries out "Where are you?" Bill angrily offers, "Here's a
wild guess... he’s in the water!!") Steady riffing was heard during the
Empires first attack on the frozen planet. And Luke's training with Yoda was a
non-stop scream as well.
While the
riffing tails off at the end, the final 40 minutes wasn't a complete black
hole, there were a few chuckles. But it seems Lando was no substitute for Yoda.
In the end, it wound up a decent, if uneven release.
Release Date: January 22, 2010
Riffers: Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett
"The Hurt Locker as performed by the Build-a-Bear
workshop" - Mike
And this closes Rifftrax visit to the live-action Star Wars
films. The first 3 were steadier and funnier than this past trio. With Jedi an
inconsistent mix. It starts off slow, only tapping into the force on occasion.
The Salacious Crumb and Jabba jokes were predictable, sometimes lowbrow, and not
my favorite kind of funny. These are countered by Yoda kicking the bucket and
the Ewoks given a display of C3POs Godlike power, all earning laughs. There
were some cute references: Brain Guy, James Bond's Blofeld (where’s my cat),
Gaylord from the live Christmas show. And thankfully the trax finishes up
strong with Teddy Bear quips and hilarious knocks on the retcon. So - slow
start/superb down the stretch.
