Sunday, August 24, 2014

702 - The Brute Man

With Short: The Chicken of Tomorrow
First Broadcast - 5 pm Saturday, Fed 10 1996

#98 in Mighty Jack's Top 100
Amazing Colossal Grade: I think the focus of the film should have been the grumpy old grocer, he was the ginchiest!
Movie Pain: Medium - Watchable but exploitive
Riffing: Solid, good humor
Skits: Chuckle-Fest at best



Shown with the informative farm fresh short, "Chicken of Tomorrow", which gets funnier every time I watch it (I really got a kick out of Crow sharing feed with the baby chicks). Brute Man tells the tale of a former "BMOC", who's disfigured, goes on a vengeful killing spree, and befriends a sweet, if very naive, blind girl.

The riffing in this episode is pretty steady. It wasn't an experiment where I constantly roared with laughter, but I did enjoy the smart and pointed wit - For example: Crow gives voice to the creeper and has him giving his blind girlfriend a View-Master.  Later, Mike has the girl making the mistake of thinking Brutes troubles involved being with child.

Aside from the riffs, the movie itself provides a laugh or two or three... The stinger with the grumpy old grocer is a riot. Oh and keep an eye on the theater seats during that scene as Mike doubles over and his shoulders shake with laughter.

Host Segments
Intro: Tom wants to get into real estate. Segment 1: Pearl's going out so she puts Crow in charge. Segment 2: Servo's in an egg. Segment 3: Mike's new escape plan involves calling an old girlfriend. Segment 4: Crow sings "Tom Dewey". End: Letters, Servo's a bad landlord, and Dr. F transforms Pearl's date. Stinger: "Creeper, creeper, creeper. You give me the creeps!"


Notable Riffs
Chicken Riffs
"Aren't there supposed to be pantyhose in there?" -Tom Servo.
"Lick your eggs, or have a friend lick them." - Crow
"Wait a minute...men and women breeding better poultry? What kind of sick experiment is going on here?" - Mike
"The chicken of tomorrow in a deadly battle against the chicken of today!" - Servo
"Dedicated to the chickens who lost their lives in the great Chicken war!" - Crow
"The unholy alliance between big oil and big chickens" - Servo
"There's no driver! The chickens are taking over" - Crow
"Everybody, "Soylent Green" is made from Chickens" - Servo
"Yes, chicken sliced to the width of one electron." - Crow
"Eggs are complicated, they should cost 100 dollars each." - Mike


Brute Riffs
"What about Captain Flash or Captain Rocket? Captain M.J. Donnally doesn't do it for a superhero." - Servo
* "Rocks move faster than this guy." - Servo
"She can't resist the great smell of Brute Man." - Crow
"None of this would have happened if chemistry weren't required." - Crow.
"He and his buddies went bobbing for anvils." - Mike
"He looks like an Easter Island statue" - Crow
"Hey, it's KTMA" - Crow
"Signed, 'Not the Brute'" - Servo
"I'm going to grow an ugly face and kill you!" - Crow
"I've cornered myself and no one's even chasing me." - Mike
"Ahh, now his creeping has just turned into wandering" - Mike
"Never before has the screen sizzled with such intense Fire Escape action!" - Crow
"I'm not a burglar..." "I'm a hot dog."- Brute/Servo
"Here." - "It's a View Master." - Brute/Crow to blind girl
"I knew he was in some sort of trouble, but I didn't realize it was with the police." - "I thought he was pregnant." - Blind girl/Mike


Riff Explained
"I really hope he doesn't accidentally sneak in and kill Alicia de Larrocha" - Mike
Larrocha, (1923- ) is a Spanish pianist, known for her masterful performances of classical and Spanish music. Born in Barcelona, she was a child prodigy and pursued an international career after 1947. Source: Microsoft Encarta. (c) 1995

Stuff and Nonsense
* Star, Rondo Hatton, died weeks after the making of this film.

* The Mother of Monkee Mickey Dolenz, plays one of the creepers early victims (Joan).

* Fred Coby (Young Hal Moffit) had small parts in 16 different episodes of the television hit, "Gunsmoke". His final role was as a Dr. on the show in 1970 (He was only 54 when he died). Fred can be seen as a pilot in "Jungle Goddess" and as a bartender in the Elvis vehicle "Jailhouse Rock".


Available on DVD: Volume 22

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