140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Look, it’s absolutely nuts. I’ve seen the picture a bunch of times and I’m still not even sure if I like it. But I am sure that I love it…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension:
Oddly enough, I never caught this movie until last year, when it turned 30 years old. I don’t know how I missed it all these years. Actually, sure I do. We seldom had movie channels on cable growing up (something I’m largely grateful for) and this sure as hell wasn’t going to play on network tv. Cult movies like this need a champion – someone who will stick up for them and insist you watch them even after you’ve seen five minutes when flipping and immediately written it off. I have my own Hong Kong Cavaliers who have successfully sat me down for Big Trouble in Little China, Highlander, and Better Off Dead; less so for Eraserhead. I’m proud to say I’ve been that champion for I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Tapeheads, House Party and The Frighteners. (We all stumbled upon Bad Taste together back in the 80’s, but I’m not sure any of us tried to win over anyone else with that one.)
The main thing about The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is that it’s cool. If you disagree with that statement, you probably shouldn’t bother watching. It is crucial that you find the whole premise kind of interesting and think the guy is awesome. Because it is a painfully flawed movie, so without the overriding enjoyment of the thing, you’re not going to get anything out of it.
Even if you are all in on the concept, it’s still a seriously bumpy ride. It sounded so crazy to me when I first heard it: action/adventure star who is a neurosurgeon, samurai, physicist, test pilot and musician with a special team of sidekicks. It’s so absurd but at least it’s original. Then I find out about 1930’s pulp fiction character Doc Savage, a physician, surgeon, adventurer, explorer and musician with a special team of sidekicks. Oh, he also studies martial arts. I have absolutely no idea how Banzai even made it to film – the whole premise sounds like a rights nightmare.
But even if the character has a clear ancestor, Dr. Banzai remains a unique character. Batman, after all, owes a great deal to Sherlock Holmes, but is no less original because of it. Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers are their own creation and their adventures across the 8th dimension make for a fresh tale. It makes very little sense, though.
The first half of the movie is far more interesting than the latter part; ridiculously so. The story simply can’t keep up with the characters.
The jet car is amazing and the premise of passing through solid matter is good sci-fi. Of course there will be interesting results and that’s fine too. But the outcome is patently absurd. Even 30 years ago this character design must have looked truly silly.
“But it’s supposed to be silly” I hear you protest, “it’s a comedy”. Is it, though? No one told the filmmakers. I know it contains a lot of humor and things clearly aren’t meant to be taken too seriously, but I reject the idea that this is supposed to be a comedy. And I think that’s a lot of, if not most of, the problem with The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. The tone is wildly erratic, a sure sign that not everyone was on the same page.
It’s no secret that the film was DOA at the box office, that the studio had absolutely no idea what they had been given or what to do with it. In reading about the development of the film, it seems that writer Earl Mac Rauch himself didn’t know what to do with his creation. According to director & co-producer W.D. Richter, the scripts started out promising and then languished with no endings, as Mac Rauch would start over with entirely new ideas. The film itself makes a lot more sense when you know its provenance; it’s a fantastic idea that not only has no third act, it barely has a second. The whole film feels undercooked as a result. For something that had such a long gestation, it seems to have arrived half-finished.
The opening crawl (another vestige of the old serials and a clear sign of the character’s forbearers) attempts to quickly acquaint you with the titular renaissance man and the setup, but you’re really just being thrown into the deep end of the pool. I don’t have a problem with this, by the way; I appreciate ambitious scripts that expect the audience to keep up. My only issue is that while it explains where the story is opening (with Banzai’s jet car ready to break the dimensional barrier) it adds the following strange coda: “…while high above Earth, an alien spacecraft keeps a nervous watch on Team Banzai’s every move…”. Aliens? Really? You’re leading with aliens? Not only does this supernatural element risk (and succeed) in torpedoing a promising narrative, it doesn’t even make sense within the world of the story. The whole conceit of the rest of the film deals with interdimensional beings – aliens on our own planet but in a different dimension. So why are there other aliens from other planets? Note: you find out eventually – if you can follow the exposition – that they’re all aliens from Planet 10; some of them had a civil war and got trapped in the…ahh, who cares…
The aliens are just poorly designed. There’s no getting around this. The Lectoids and their humor – you’re either in or you’re out. I’m out. When they’re on the screen I’m reaching for the remote. Waste of some good actors…
The villain, Dr. Emilio Lizardo or Lord John Whorfin or whatever the hell he is, shamefully overplayed by John Lithgow, is a similar problem. Lithgow is channeling Il Duce for no apparent reason and the only mercy is that after a big setup he leaves the film for 40 minutes. That’s right – you don’t see the villain again for nearly half the movie. By the time he turns up it’s “Oh. You again?”
There are scads of characters that could have and should have been excised entirely. The Secretary of Defense, the President, some of the henchmen; it isn’t just that they’re useless, it’s that they eat up a ton of screen time and make the story even more incomprehensible…
Some notes jotted down while watching:
- The effects in the 8th dimension are very cool. Great visuals.
- The opening sequence is just so good; filmed very well. Not sure if this is the original DP’s work, but there’s some great stuff here.
- Believe it or not, the jet car is an entirely practical effect. A racing group in California built the thing from scratch. Those shots of a truck being propelled by a rocket? That’s all actually happening…
- Something gets attached to the jet car, a living organism or biological remnant. So this is the object that propels the story, huh? What’s that? You say it has nothing to do with the rest of the story? That’s really weird…
- The second Lithgow appears on screen the tone of the film instantly changes. Everything is “look, we’re being quirky – aren’t we so strange?”
- Must have been really fun to design these sets and all the props.
- I’d love to go to this club to see the Cavaliers. The band rocks and the fashion is fantastic. I know this was one of the scenes shot by original DP Jordan Cronenweth (Blade Runner), who was foolishly replaced by the producer.
- The band jumps into cover of “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats – sly reference there, as the song isn’t named in the film and they never get to the vocals – you have to know that’s what song it is. (Buckaroo’s jet car is named HB 88 and bears a license plate reading “ROKIT 88”) See, this is what I mean – there’s some great stuff that makes up for all of the weirdness…
- Ellen Barkin as Penny Priddy. What is going on here? Maybe add her to the list of characters to remove.
- “No matter where you go, there you are.”
- Cover of the Starliners “Since I Don’t Have You” – amazing. Weller actually handled his own singing, trumpet & guitar playing, but not piano.
- I love that the Cavaliers are all packing while on stage…
- I want the stand up Buckaroo Banzai videogame cabinet
- So hard to pick a favorite Cavalier. Clancy Brown as Rawhide is cool as ice, Jeff Goldblum’s Tom Mix inspired New Jersey is pretty funny, but I’ve got a bit of a man-crush on Lewis Smith as Perfect Tommy…
- The Blue Blazer Regulars – what a cool group of on call support…
- Just realized that the tune New Jersey is playing on the piano back at the house is the end credit music.
- President is played by Ronald Lacey (Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark) channeling Orson Welles. The idea that War of the Worlds wasn’t a hoax but a cover-up is clever, but not as clever as they think it is.
- The movie is an hour in before the actual plot is revealed. Having a purpose leads to the whole action part of the film, but the film itself ironically grinds to a crawl at that point. Just about everything that happens after the hour mark is tedious. It’s crazy, but the thing just meanders while meaningless action occurs. I can’t even fathom what the plan is supposed to be…
- The set design is insane – I can’t imagine any thought went into it whatsoever. It feels more like a guerilla film, where they just wandered into an industrial area on the weekend without permission and just made use of whatever was there…
- And why the hell is this all taking place in New Jersey? Why are they here?
- Professor Hikita is last seen in the movie around the hour mark. He was working on a formula Buckaroo got from the Black Lectoids. We never find out what it is for. Oscillation Overthruster? No… Formula to see through the Lectoids disguise? No…
- The entire climax of the picture is full of truly bizarre actions. The bad guys spend the entire film trying to get the Overthruster. But despite the thing being in their hostages CLEAR handbag, they don’t find it, or persuade either hostage to help them fix their own Overthruster. When they get nothing that they set out to do, they try to leave anyway? The good guys are no more clever; they’re trying to get the Overthruster to prevent all out war, but when they can’t recover it, they climb aboard the ship? To what end? The denouement is essentially nobody succeeding at anything. It’s weird…
- It’s just a real pity that they chose to go with this alien story instead of a much more promising earthly tale about Hanoi Xan, who killed Buckaroo’s parents and wife.
- There was an alternate opening showing Buckaroo as a boy with his parents (mom played by Jamie Lee Curtis) making an early attempt at breaking the barrier before being killed by Xan’s sabotage. You can see it on the DVD. It’s interesting and probably should have been left in, even if it would have created as many problems as it solved. Sort of set the tone for a different film than this ended up being…
- “Watch for the next adventure of Buckaroo Banzai, Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League” Sigh…if only…
I can’t wait until someone reboots Buckaroo Banzai. This will eventually make a fantastic tv series. Can you imagine the serialized adventures of Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers every week? It would be amazing! I know there have been attempts to bring it to tv. They’ve also put out a few comics in the past few years, also by writer Earl Mac Rauch. I read one series; it was incredibly faithful. By that I mean that it was interesting but maddeningly uneven with loose ends and errors all over the place…
I know it sounds like I dislike the film based on all these criticisms and essentially proposing throwing out half the film, but it’s totally untrue. I really love The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. I just wish the script was half as interesting as the characters. Still, don’t be mean. Remember, NMWYGTYA…
To see how much of an inspiration Team Banzai has been, check out my next post: Ford Feeney and the New Hong Kong Cavaliers…
Poster:
Trailer:
http://youtu.be/-LkCwYSHP2Y
Bechdel Test:
Fail
The Representation Test Score: C (6 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Peter Weller Buckaroo Banzai, John Lithgow Lord John Whorfin/Dr. Emilio Lizardo, Ellen Barkin Penny Priddy, Jeff Goldblum New Jersey |
| Rating | PG |
| Release Date | Wed 15 Aug 1984 UTC |
| Director | W.D. Richter |
| Genres | Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi |
| Plot | Adventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 103 |
| Tagline | Beings from Another Dimension have invaded your world. |
| Writers | Earl Mac Rauch |
| Year | 1984 |
