Musical Mondays Week 71 The Return of Captain Invincible

[Cameron H. 23786]

If you think I haven’t already Tweeted this movie to HDTGM, you’d be dead wrong.

We watched:

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

I was so disappointed.  I thought they had made this book into a movie.

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

I actually liked this overall.  I was wondering if it was an Australian production but I can't confirm that.  It had bigger names in it than would be normal.  I did like they got Bill Hunter, my favorite Australian character actor, in there as the trainer to get Captain Invicible back in shape.  (He played Barry Fife, the evil dance association head, in Strictly Ballroom.  He was also the voice of the dentist in Finding Nemo.)

I did wonder if the songwriters were about to go on break so they said "Hey! Let's make a song out of only one word!"

 

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

See kids?!?  Gang signs are cool!  Captain Invicible flashes them so you can too!

[Cam Bert 8145]

To me the biggest problem with this movie was it wanted to be fun but it didn't feel fun.

I relate this movie to those that try to parody a style, look, or fashion of a genre. They wanted to make fun of old serials I suppose but the film itself just picks and chooses what to do with that genre. Something like Flash Gordon that came out around the same time is something that took the campness of the serials and ran with it to make a film that embraced it, celebrated it while being fun and fully aware of what it was. Even Indian Jones which was a few years earlier was inspired by serials and runs with it better. This movie is a bit different in that it is trying to be a comedy and for the most part the comedy fell flat overall. That's probably due to an overabundance of ideas that they tried to cram into it. 

[Cameron H. 23786]

For me, I think I might have enjoyed it if I were in the right mood. It was pretty crazy and it definitely needs to be seen by more eyes. I think my brain couldn’t handle the juxtaposition from The Boys to this  

[Cameron H. 23786]

1 minute ago, Cam Bert said:

To me the biggest problem with this movie was it wanted to be fun but it didn't feel fun.

I relate this movie to those that try to parody a style, look, or fashion of a genre. They wanted to make fun of old serials I suppose but the film itself just pics and chooses what to do with that genre. Instead of embracing it it picks and chooses ideas it likes from it. Something like Flash Gordon that came out around the same time is something that took the campness of the serials and ran with it to make a film that embraced it, celebrated it while being fun and fully aware of what it was. Even Indian Jones which was a few years earlier was inspired by serials and runs with it better. This movie is a bit different in that it is trying to be a comedy and for the most part the comedy fell flat overall. That's probably due to an overabundance of ideas that they tried to cram into it. 

OMG, when the movie started with about 10 newsreels I started wondering if the whole movie was just that - newsreel after newsreel.

[Cam Bert 8145]

3 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

OMG, when the movie started with about 10 newsreels I started wondering if the whole movie was just that - newsreel after newsreel.

YES! I was starting to wonder if the entire movie was going to be told via news clips because once the newsreels finish he's interviewed on the evening news as well.

[Cameron H. 23786]

4 minutes ago, Cam Bert said:

YES! I was starting to wonder if the entire movie was going to be told via news clips because once the newsreels finish he's interviewed on the evening news as well.

LOL - I was like, “Oh, Jesus, how long is this thing going to be?

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

13 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

For me, I think I might have enjoyed it if I were in the right mood. It was pretty crazy and it definitely needs to be seen by more eyes. I think my brain couldn’t handle the juxtaposition from The Boys to this  

I'm getting into The Boys now.  I liked the first episode but wasn't sure about the second.  However the third really picked up and I'm ready to watch the next one.

[Cam Bert 8145]

2 minutes ago, Cinco DeNio said:

I'm getting into The Boys now.  I liked the first episode but wasn't sure about the second.  However the third really picked up and I'm ready to watch the next one.

I really liked it overall. You should stick with it.

[Cam Bert 8145]

Okay there might be an easier answer to this but I started checking out in the last third but who was the mole on the inside? After the vacuum shop set up they go back to the base and everybody is tied up and laughing they suspect a mole on the inside. Did they ever reveal who it was? I remember him talking to the President later and the conversation was odd. Was he suppose to be the mole?

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

@Cam Bert's Letterboxd review is spot on as this being "One part Rocky Horror", since Richard O'Brien wrote three songs for this movie.

[theworstbuddhist 572]

4 hours ago, Cinco DeNio said:

I actually liked this overall.  I was wondering if it was an Australian production but I can't confirm that.  It had bigger names in it than would be normal.  I did like they got Bill Hunter, my favorite Australian character actor, in there as the trainer to get Captain Invicible back in shape.  (He played Barry Fife, the evil dance association head, in Strictly Ballroom.  He was also the voice of the dentist in Finding Nemo.)

 

It was an Australian co-production, yeah. Bill Hunter is in so much stuff that I wonder if it was actually required by Aussie law that he appears in everything produced there.

[theworstbuddhist 572]

4 hours ago, theworstbuddhist said:

It was an Australian co-production, yeah. Bill Hunter is in so much stuff that I wonder if it was actually required by Aussie law that he appears in everything produced there.

Lol, just remembered the time I told my wife we should watch Muriel's Wedding (with Bill Hunter playing Toni Collette's dad, of course) because it was such a great comedy. I guess the years glossed over how dark that effing movie is...

[Cam Bert 8145]

8 hours ago, Cinco DeNio said:

@Cam Bert's Letterboxd review is spot on as this being "One part Rocky Horror", since Richard O'Brien wrote three songs for this movie.

I can see that. It's that general vibe of "Let's take this old thing and make it a camp musical" that made it feel Rocky Horror to me. That and Christopher Lee's number with the dancers.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I also felt a (poorly done) Rocky Horror vibe while watching it.

[theworstbuddhist 572]

4 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

I also felt a (poorly done) Rocky Horror vibe while watching it.

I'm too lazy to look it up, have you guys done Shock Treatment yet?

[Cameron H. 23786]

11 minutes ago, theworstbuddhist said:

I'm too lazy to look it up, have you guys done Shock Treatment yet?

I don’t think so.

[Cam Bert 8145]

28 minutes ago, theworstbuddhist said:

I'm too lazy to look it up, have you guys done Shock Treatment yet?

No we haven't. We haven't even done Rocky Horror.

Again Shock Treatment for me doesn't fully work either. I think the reason Rocky Horror works is that it was an actual stage production. They put it up, and tested it. It was also structured more like a traditional musical. Shock Treatment and Captain Invincible were just made straight into movies and kinda lost something as a result.

[theworstbuddhist 572]

11 minutes ago, Cam Bert said:

No we haven't. We haven't even done Rocky Horror.

Again Shock Treatment for me doesn't fully work either. I think the reason Rocky Horror works is that it was an actual stage production. They put it up, and tested it. It was also structured more like a traditional musical. Shock Treatment and Captain Invincible were just made straight into movies and kinda lost something as a result.

A stage production of Captain Invincible would be quite something.

I have mixed feelings about Rocky Horror. I like the show, the stage show, and what it has to say. And some of the songs are legit classics (though I would happily go the rest of my life without ever hearing "Time Warp" again.) I think the film is fine, especially in a large group setting with everyone doing the stupid crap you're supposed to do. When I was in college in the late 80s, I was an AV nerd for my part time job and one of my gigs was to run the projector for the few times they showed RHPS in the student union - because there was no video release of it yet, presumably due to our old friend underage drinking music rights. So when it finally did come out on VHS - I think around 1990 - I remember renting it and rushing home thinking oh man, this is gonna be awesome! And I HATED it. It was such a terrible film without the crowd. Tim Curry is great, a lot of other elements are great, but as a film, well. I'd rather watch a live stage production.

I feel like Shock Treatment was one of many late 70s attempts to make a hit musical film a la Tommy, Grease, Hair, The Wall etc. But as you say, it's usually a good idea to start with a really well-developed stage show and then worry about converting it to film.

Which reminds me, there was once an off broadway musical made of Road House. Where is my film of that?!

[Cam Bert 8145]

2 hours ago, theworstbuddhist said:

A stage production of Captain Invincible would be quite something.

I have mixed feelings about Rocky Horror. I like the show, the stage show, and what it has to say. And some of the songs are legit classics (though I would happily go the rest of my life without ever hearing "Time Warp" again.) I think the film is fine, especially in a large group setting with everyone doing the stupid crap you're supposed to do. When I was in college in the late 80s, I was an AV nerd for my part time job and one of my gigs was to run the projector for the few times they showed RHPS in the student union - because there was no video release of it yet, presumably due to our old friend underage drinking music rights. So when it finally did come out on VHS - I think around 1990 - I remember renting it and rushing home thinking oh man, this is gonna be awesome! And I HATED it. It was such a terrible film without the crowd. Tim Curry is great, a lot of other elements are great, but as a film, well. I'd rather watch a live stage production.

I feel like Shock Treatment was one of many late 70s attempts to make a hit musical film a la Tommy, Grease, Hair, The Wall etc. But as you say, it's usually a good idea to start with a really well-developed stage show and then worry about converting it to film.

Which reminds me, there was once an off broadway musical made of Road House. Where is my film of that?!

I know there were also musical for Jaws, Re-Animator, and Evil Dead. I don't think any of those ever made it to Broadway though.

[theworstbuddhist 572]

33 minutes ago, Cam Bert said:

I know there were also musical for Jaws, Re-Animator, and Evil Dead. I don't think any of those ever made it to Broadway though.

I saw the Evil Dead musical in Toronto! Fun show. I didn't sit in the splash zone, sadly.

[tomspanks 9039]

14 hours ago, theworstbuddhist said:

Which reminds me, there was once an off broadway musical made of Road House.

Fun fact: the role of Patrick Swayze was played by Taimak from The Last Dragon

[theworstbuddhist 572]

7 minutes ago, tomspanks said:

Fun fact: the role of Patrick Swayze was played by Taimak from The Last Dragon

Yeah, I've seen pictures but never a production sadly. I should see if I can at least find a libretto somewhere, an old friend of mine works at one of the theatre bookshops in NYC.