Ok folks here's ol Father Geek's review of Baseketball. Now my father is a complete anti physical slapstick comedy sort of guy. He generally likes intelligence in his humor. That said, he loved THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. He went into this film groaning as if he were being lured to stand before a firing squad. Groaning about all the other films playing in Austin that night and how we were going to see a total piece of crap. RoboGeek reinforced his beliefs, and I dove in too. I kinda liked it in a sorta mediocre way, the review is forthcoming. Site Redesign stuff is keeping me pretty busy, but I'll pull my shit together. One thing though. Father Geek blames the reason he didn't choose to see SOME CAME RUNNING tonight on the Texas Union venue. Well if he'd mentioned this to me, I'd of told him it was showing at the Alamo Drafthouse, one of his favorite venues. Every Tuesday night here in Austin a very good film is screened for free at the Alamo courtesy of the Austin Film Society. Now for BASEketball and Father Geek....
Hey there kiddies, Father Geek (Harry's Dad) here with
my views on BASEKETBALL, the movie not the sport. (Which just might
work) 1st off, I hate nights like last night. I had free tickets to 4
different movies, all starting at the same time and scattered all over
Austin, whereas on both Monday and Wednesday I had NO free passes for
anything. Bummer! Well, which film would I see? My choices were:
Baseketball, The Parent Trap, Some Came Running, and The Negotiator.
1958's Some Came Running, the great James Jones follow up to From Here
To Eternity considered by many to be the absolute best "rat pack" movie
with 4 Academy Award Noms under it's belt is of course my best bet.
Hosted by the Austin Film Society it is however being shown at the Texas
Union a small, uncomfortable venue with all parking on the street and
very little of that within 3 blocks. I blow it off! Well what about The
Parent Trap? Another unwelcomed remake, this time of a well known piece
of Disney fluff. In 1961 when Hayley Mills made the original I was 16
and had just started driving. My mother would extort me into taking my
little sister (age 9) to see "her" movies if I wished to use the car
that weekend. I had to sit through Mills' original 3 times and was in no
mood to see some half-baked retread. So I am down to 2 choices. Well, no
contest you say. Yes I know I will like The Negotiator much much more,
buuuuut it's showing at a theater in a farflung suburb and Baseketball
is at the closest venue to Geek Headquarters and afterall I know I won't
mind paying to see Sam Jackson in anything he does. Soooooooooooooooo I
stuff my face with all you can eat pizza and head off to the Highland
10.
I have seen several editions of South Park. I was
subjected to Cannibol the Musical at The South by Southwest Film
Festival, and I have viewed Orgazmo so I was expecting something
original at the very least. Well, it was not to be. What I saw instead
was just another in a long line of Zuck Fests, stupid, stupid sight
gags, just endless variations on the stuff I've seen in films like:
1974's "Return of the Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe",1976's
"Chatterbox", 1978's "The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank",
1984's "The Best Legs in the 8th Grade", 1985's "Morons from Outer
Space", 1987's classic "Assault of the Killer Bimbos", 1988's "Ferocious
Female Freedom Fighters", and of course the best of the lot 1986's
"Terrorvision" with Gerrit Graham and Mary Woronov. This tend of dumbed
down comedy has got to have about run it's course, thank God.
You know when a food product misrepresents itself to the public ,or an over the counter medicine, or even cigs the government
steps in and withdraws them from the market, or starts some consumer
protection action of some sort. Not so with movies though. Well, this
film is billing itself as "the best comedy since "Animal House", and
"the biggest laugh riot of the 90's". WHAAAAT? Its not even close to the
best comedy of the week, that's the outrageous "Something About Mary".
Of course I guess we have to thank Mel Brooks and John Landis for all
these increadibily dump jokefest, sightgag comedies(?) we've been
swamped with over the last few years. Afterall "Blazing Saddles" in 1974
and "Animal House" in 78 where such giant, deserving hits that made use
of this kind of humor that everyone after has tried to copy and out do
them. God, I guess the real blame lays with the kings of dumb, those
physical comedy geniuses the Three Stooges. Well rest assurded that the
guys in Baseketball are NO Moe, Larry, or Curley; the're not even Spinal
Tap, or Bill & Ted. Oh, how I long for the days of Peter Sellers and the
vintage Woody. I would love to see some comedies as well written as the
worst of Preston Sturges. Wouldn't it be great to be able to sit down
and watch a modern comedy with the wit and dialogue of a "Palm Beach
Story", or a "Sullivan's Travels", or an "Unfaithfully Yours" Hows about
an "It Happened One Night", or "Bringing up Baby", or "Philadelphia
Story". Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking for remakes, God forbid, just
films of the quality of writing and performing that these classics
represent.
The bottomline, and I do mean bottom, Baseketball has a few forgettable laughs and a couple of interesting sightgags, but it
just falls way, way short of any (that's any) of the films I have
mentioned in this opus. The 8 year old sitting next to me did fall out
of his seat laughing when they start playing with the mother's vibrator
though.( wonder how he even knew what it was, Hummmmm?) Unless you can
scareup a free pass somewere stay away, way away. Joe must have suffered
a blow to the head with his own ballbat to have written that inane
review of his. Hope you're feeling better soon, Joe. You must have just
been seeing double and with your ears ringing so loud filled in your
own, excellant dialogue. You're forgiven.
Stay Cool!
Father Geek
