Wacko

It's Halloween, it's the night of a school prom, it's a Friday, the Moon is full and 13 years after a brutal murderous spree The Lawnmower Killer is back! Wacko is a horror-comedy with the emphasis very much on the latter, and by comedy I mean the over the top variety, the slapstick and surreal type found in movies such as "Airplane!" For me most of the gags worked and I did laugh out loud a few times though I must have been in the right frame of mind for it. Good production values and a decent cast helped a lot, though hardly a classic this could have been so much worse. Films parodied include Psycho, The Omen, Alien, The Exorcist and The Elephant Man. George Kennedy plays a doctor (his wife says "Mary! Your father is a doctor, he kills people every day") who likes to peep on his teen daughters through their bedroom windows. Not sure how even back then this was meant to be funny, it's creepy and perverted. As usual the school kids look more mid to late 20's than teens, including "Tony", a full blooded alpha male obviously inspired by John Travolta's Danny from Grease but with added crudeness. I always say the horror-comedy is a difficult genre to get right, fortunately Wacko proved to be a worthwhile watch. Furthermore it was made during the Golden Age of the Slasher Movie and that alone is a good enough reason to check it out.

I think it's funny that someone actually thought this was an inspiration for "The Lawnmower Man," which was actually loosely based on a story published by Stephen King five years before "Wacko" was made.

So...inspiration for "The Lawnmower Man"? No. Damn funny horror spoof? Yes. Check this out, along with "Student Bodies"...the only two good horror spoofs to date.

I saw this movie in the mid to late 80's and laughed non-stop. My brothers and I still quote lines from it. It belongs up there with Caddy Shack, Animal House, etc, but never got the recognition it deserves. Andrew Dice Clay was a good addition, but definitely not the star of this movie. I think this might be the only comedy role Joe Don Baker (Detective Harbinger) ever did, but he was great. When he brings the psychologist into the Captain's office I thought I was gonna wet my pants. "If you p!ss him off, RUN!" I tracked down a copy of this movie on VHS and value it more than any of my DVDs. There are a few famous people sprinkled in there, but over all, you don't see much of these people, anymore. Still a great movie for quick laughs.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Wacko; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 0.75 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 0.75 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 1.00

TOTAL: 4.50 out of 10.00

This film could have been much better had they revised Dick Harbinger and Mr Doctor Graves - though it could be their comedic personas that are dated and obsolete, though both still have some laughs in them.

The story is that of Mary Graves, who thirteen years earlier witnessed a murder so heinous she's bound to be screwed up by the terrible images she must carry with her for the rest of her life - Her sister and boyfriend receiving a trim from a killer wearing a pumpkin as a mask and pushing a humongous lawnmower. Now, thirteen years later, could the killer and his motor mower be back in town and looking to continue his landscaping business? Well, there has been an escape from the local nuthouse. But don't worry, Dick Harbinger is on the scene. There should be a lot to laugh at, like the parody of Halloween's opening sequence. Where, instead of Mikey Myers scoping out his sister, it's daddy who's peeking in on his daughter. It's expertly constructed and shot, and you explicitly know who's having the pee taken out of them. But when the punchline comes, it's unfunny. And there are too many skits like this one that miss the mark. And the repetition of the "she's bound to be screwed up..." narrative moves from being funny to becoming annoying and predictable - and predictably annoying. But that said, there is still some clever wordplay - I particularly liked the scene when Mr Doctor Graves admits to the missus that he's not a Doctor at all and that Doctor is his first name. There's even some funny slapstick, like Doctor Graves falling from a stepladder after peeping on Mary through her bedroom window while she's sleeping. His jaw hits every run on the way down. One of the funniest characters is Tony Schlongini - the guy even has his own Theme Tune. And thanks to his name, he gets all the licentious laughs. The table tipping sketch is one of my faves.

The direction needed to be better. I heartily believe that Graydon Clark isn't a great comedic director. Many of the comedic fails within the movie come from terrible timing or humdrum cinematography. Though, as I mentioned above, he impeccably replicates the Halloween opening, this is one of a few exceptions - too few. To add power to the punchline, he needed to render more exciting imagery and snappier tempos to the gags.

The cast is excellent, though Joe Don Baker appears to suffer from Graydon Clarks' malady. He's not a comedic actor. You can see he's trying to be funny, but perceiving this, it renders most of his work humourless and a tad lame. On the other hand, the remainder of the cast do splendidly in most of their scenes, but still, there are quite a few that fall flat

Wacko is not a laugh-a-minute or out-loud comedy, but it should raise a chortle and smile in a few places. As such, I'd recommend it for only one viewing; and then only to the die-hard comedic horror fans. Otherwise, I recommend watching Pandemonium or Full Moon High, which are better comedy-horrors from the 80s.

Stop mowing the lawn, get off that damned mower, and visit my Killer Thriller Chillers, Absolute Horror, and Just For Laughs lists to see where I ranked Wacko.

Take Care & Stay Well.

"Wacko" is one of those films that audiences will either love or hate. It is dated, it is un-PC, it is crass and cruel all at the same time, but in the same sense it is a precursor to the now-popular "Scary Movie" franchise. For a PG rated film it pushes the envelope, it creates a world where one would have to have seen the film that they are spoofing, or be left in the dark. Unlike the "Scary Movie" films, "Wacko" leans away from the bathroom humor (albeit there is plenty there), but actually parodies cult films from Hitchcock, John Carpenter, De Palma, and so forth. Joe Don Baker is phenomenal. I am surprised that he didn't redefine this genre. His mannerisms, his insanity, and his surprisingly fresh take on his determined detective out to discover the truth is laugh-out-loud funny. Couple this with a fresh-faced Andrew Dice Clay jumping excitedly into the shoes of the local hipster/jock, be prepared for a wild ride. "Wacko" is fast past, absurd, and confusing all at the same time (i.e. see the talking elephant), but it isn't perfect. While two viewings continued to bring a chuckle to the room, any further viewing may be disastrous. There are some great repeatable lines, some great references, but these are coupled with some slow scenes and staged dialogue. There are moments where "Wacko" has no direction, and director Greydon Clark obviously has no idea where he is headed either. While this adds to the enjoyment of "Wacko", there was a moment where a secure storyline would have been a powerful alley to this laserdisc. Anything to keep us grounded while Clark took us around the corner, under the bridge, and into that darkened alleyway known as horror parodies.

Overall, "Wacko" needs a DVD release. This is a film that could be watched on college campus', midnight Halloween night at your local independent theater, or with a group of friends with drinks. It is one of those 80s campy horror comedies that were afraid to take chances, and I respect "Wacko" for that. Obviously, it will not win awards, but I see that it make it into the "cult cannon" any day of the week. I would not suggest repeat viewings, but at least two for the detailed humor of Joe Don Baker and Andrew Dice Clay (in this film, merely known as Andrew Clay). The humor is sharp, the dialogue less friendly, and the in today's modern world, it would not be PG rated, but thanks to the 80s – it is mediocrity to its perfection.

Grade: *** out of *****