I am a big fan of Al, and so are my friends. Most of them are also big fans of this movie, and so I had it built up quite a bit before I finally saw it. Wow, what a disappointment. The humor was sophomoric, the jokes were crude, and the ending was childish. I never wanted to see it again.
Fortunately, it played on cable at school, and so I ended up watching it during several long nights of homework. Once I had lost sight of the glorious hopes of a quintessential work of comedy, I was able to see this movie for what it really was. Particularly, it is Weird Al doing what he does best: spoofing pop culture and giving fractured takes on the simple things in life. From his take on Indiana Jones (perhaps one of the truest, funniest parodies of another movie found in film, with the crowning irony of reaching for the Oscar that Al and this film could never win), to Stanley's love of his mop, this movie is full of the kind of parody of art and life that has been Al's trademark. Only Al would use a twinkie as a hot dog bun. Only he could include the remorseless sketch about launching animals out of the window.
Still, the movie also had its dull moments. Most irritating of those was his dream/music video about the Beverly Hillbillies. While the computer graphics were pretty good for a low-budget film of its day, it was a pretty lame song to include. That brings up another of my frustrations with the movie. The soundtrack included "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota," which is perhaps my all-time favorite song by Weird Al, but it was not found anywhere in the movie (I listened to the end of the credits for it). The fact that I wasn't listening for it any more was probably a key reason why I could enjoy the movie the second time. And, of course, it was entertaining to see such well-known performers as Michael Richards and Fran Dresher in this early role.
After all else is said and done, Al Yankovic delivered a movie that was just good, clean fun. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll buy a spatula ("Nothing says 'I love you' like the gift of a spatula").
Fortunately, it played on cable at school, and so I ended up watching it during several long nights of homework. Once I had lost sight of the glorious hopes of a quintessential work of comedy, I was able to see this movie for what it really was. Particularly, it is Weird Al doing what he does best: spoofing pop culture and giving fractured takes on the simple things in life. From his take on Indiana Jones (perhaps one of the truest, funniest parodies of another movie found in film, with the crowning irony of reaching for the Oscar that Al and this film could never win), to Stanley's love of his mop, this movie is full of the kind of parody of art and life that has been Al's trademark. Only Al would use a twinkie as a hot dog bun. Only he could include the remorseless sketch about launching animals out of the window.
Still, the movie also had its dull moments. Most irritating of those was his dream/music video about the Beverly Hillbillies. While the computer graphics were pretty good for a low-budget film of its day, it was a pretty lame song to include. That brings up another of my frustrations with the movie. The soundtrack included "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota," which is perhaps my all-time favorite song by Weird Al, but it was not found anywhere in the movie (I listened to the end of the credits for it). The fact that I wasn't listening for it any more was probably a key reason why I could enjoy the movie the second time. And, of course, it was entertaining to see such well-known performers as Michael Richards and Fran Dresher in this early role.
After all else is said and done, Al Yankovic delivered a movie that was just good, clean fun. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll buy a spatula ("Nothing says 'I love you' like the gift of a spatula").