Munchie

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.

Bobhoperocks is right that this is not a sequel...but it does state on the cover box that Munchie is a sequel to Munchies. And if you liked Munchies, you won't like Munchie because it sucks. Plain and simple. The two have nothing to do with each other. I know I'm repeating myself here, but come on...I mean, come on...!!

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.

I really have to lay into this movie. The acting is terrible, the lines are awful, nobody sounds like a kid for one, secondly the adults are written like kids, it's atrocious. The film has no depth or emotion to it, just a series of pointless gags, including tripping on a banana skin.... The special effects are bad, the magical friend is very gratting and the ending is incredibly lazy. Children deserve better than this and I feel sympathy for the young cast who do their best with a poor piece of writing. Again and again with bad movies it comes back to the writing. If this was meant to be a comedy then at least put in some funny jokes for us.

I learned of Jim Wynorski when I happened to rent his "Chopping Mall" from my neighborhood video store in summer 2001 (the people who only knew Blockbuster have no idea what they missed by not going to neighborhood video stores). I saw a number of his other movies over the years, and have now seen his utterly bizarre "Munchie", about a boy who befriends a doglike being who has unlimited powers and delights in mischief.

For the most part, it was an "E. T." ripoff, complete with a divorced mom. I will say that unlike the beyond-atrocious "Mac and Me", this one at least wasn't a giant commercial, and had some authentically funny scenes (Munchie's gag in the principal's office, and then the party). For the most part, it was nothing that I hadn't seen before.

Well guess what? "Mystery Science Theater 3000" riffed it. This was definitely a movie that set itself up to get mocked. Among the famous people whom Jonah and the 'bots mentioned were Wallace Shawn and Judy Tenuta. They also said that Dom DeLuise voiced Munchie because Don Bluth wasn't making a movie at the time, and that Loni Anderson (as the mom) must've gotten this movie in her divorce from Burt Reynolds.

The rest of the cast includes Andrew Stevens (Stella's son), Arte Johnson and Jennifer Love Hewitt in her debut.