Munchie

Do you remember Steven Spielberg's classic story of an alien creature who interacts with a lonely kid who just needs a friend?

This is like that, if you take out the joy, sense of awe, and all the heart - and heap on alllll the campy over the top schlock of a low budget movie.

Is it "so bad it's good?" Yeah, I laughed quite a bit at some of the ridiculous situations that were super problematic for a movie aimed at kids. I'm not sure how they managed to get Loni Anderson and Dom DeLuise for this, but would have loved to be a fly on the wall when those negotiations were going on.

All in all, it deserves a spot in the, "what did I just experience?" list of movies.

The release of Spielberg's masterpiece E. T. created a trend of movies that tried to ride on its coattails that stretched well into the early 90s. Munchie may not be the worst one of all, but it's still bad.

Some kid named Gage (Jamie McEnnan) stumbles into an abandoned mine shaft and discovers a leather jacket clad, wise cracking, greaser monster named Munchie locked in a chest. After releasing him, Gang befriends Munchie and promises to help him with typical problems for a kid in a thousand other films, like impressing his crush, Andrea (Jennifer Love Hewitt, amazingly) and dealing with bullies. But instead, Munchie just unleashes all kinds of hell.

There isn't really any story besides Munchies shenanigans. Half the cast is unlikeable, like the hostile Principal Thornton (Ace Mask) who has it out for Gage, his mother Cathy's (Loni Anderson) slimy new boyfriend, Elliott (Andrew Stevens), a couple of bullies; that's it. All the acting is awful, especially from the child actors; the best acting we see here comes from the kids performing Romeo and Juliet during a school play. Some of Muchys one-liners and Gages frequent day dreaming might make you snicker here and there, but that's about the only humor you can hope to find here.

Munchy is one of the most uncanny and disturbing looking puppets I've ever seen, like a horrifying combination of Bubsy Bobcat and Fonzie. His lip-syncing doesn't match up at all and his constant wise cracking and corny jokes make him really annoying, even with Dom DeLuise (RIP) voicing him. It's no wonder he was locked in a trunk and thrown off a cliff by some guy in the intro. And he's not the only cheap looking thing in this flick; he summons and levitates a plastic pizza through the air, and his magic powers are made with bright, unimpressive green sparkle effects.

While not quite as bad as Nukie (then again, what movie is?), this was still a trashy ET rip-off, Dom DeLuise' voice talent was wasted on it and I'm pretty sure it sure that it ruined Jamie McEnnan's career, but luckily not Jennifer Love Hewitts.

Munchie can make pizzas fly down the street. They found munchie in some box hidden away in a mine or something. Jennifer Love-Hewit is in this. So is Loni Anderson. This is a heartwarming tale of a kid who finds Munchie, then gets springboarded to popularity. Munchie is cool. He looks stupid, and when he talks, his hands twirl around. Watch this movie late late at night with friends, you'll laugh your head off. That one big guy from Canonball run is Munchies voice.

My review was written in June 1992 after watching the movie on New Horizons video cassette.

T&A director Jim Wynorski tries on the family film with good results in "Munchie". Picture opened in May in Nashville, but is mainly of interest to video fans.

The Title is a bit confusing, since the singular "Munchie" is a sequel to Bettina Hirsch's 1987 film "Munchies". That kind of moniker reversal is rare, though Universal remade the 1939 classic "Destry Rides Again" in 1954 as simply "Destry". (Adding confusion, Universal's original 1932 version was also called "Destry Rides Again").

Thi time, the one critter, an oversize smiling puppet voiced in wisecracking style by Dom DeLuise, is discovered in a mineshaft by young Jaime McEnnan and becomes his pal, helping him with bullies at school and magically granting other wishes.

Film laks the frenetic nature of its models, such as "Gremlins" and other imitations like the "Critters" and "Ghoulies" series. However, Wynorski's pacy direction and frequent sight gags keep things moving and entertaining.

McEnnan is an ingratiating young hero, and Loni Anderson makes for a most glamorous single parent. Arte Johnson has little to do as a neighboring archaeologist (filling the role of Harey Korman from the original), while Andrew Stevens overplays his nominal heavy as the hero's future stepdad.

Effects, such as a flying pizza, are minor, with the accent on comely, Wynorski's trademark of buxom women in the cast is amply delivered not only by Anderson but Toni Naples as Mcennan's math teacher and Monique Gabrielle as a sexy secretary to the principal.

Alright, take a look at that box art. We've got a creepy puppet in a leather jacket riding a pizza above the heads of a guy with a sexual predator mustache and a kid desperately attempting and failing to be Macaulay Culkin. How awesome you find that box art will probably directly correlate to how much you'll like MUNCHIE.

Which is to say MUNCHIE is not a very well-made movie, but it is quite entertaining when watched in the right state of mind (alcoholic beverages may help!). The acting is wooden across the board, the Munchie puppet looks like a dated, cheap children's toy that nobody bought because it was creepier than a Furby, and it's got a generic mom's-new-boyfriend character that rocks hideous '90s track-jackets. Everything feels slightly porn-y for a children's flick as well; there's much cleavage on display and one scene involving the school principal and his secretary feels distinctly softcore (tell me that actress isn't straight outta porn!). This is probably due to the director's seat being occupied by Jim Wynorski, a filmmaker much more at home directing exploitation and softcore flicks than children's movies.

It all comes off as a low-rent creepy E.T. (not, like, BADI-level creepy but certainly not cute), sans the emotional depth and filmmaking skill. Bad movie fans will have some fun with it, and little kids might too, I guess (they might need some kid beer though). Look for a preteen Jennifer Love Hewitt in her feature film debut, though she's not given anything to do but smile and look cute.

P.S. For those of you who greatly enjoyed 1987's MUNCHIES (anyone? anyone?) and are looking for a sequel, this is completely unrelated despite the trailer's claims. There is, however, a sequel to this one: 1994's MUNCHIE STRIKES BACK.