The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark

The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark: 7 out of 10: Since the cancellation of the beloved Mystery Science Theater 3000 (greatest show ever), fans have been waiting for a comeback.

The short-lived Film Crew is just that. Staring Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy (former voice of Tom Servo), and Bill Corbet (former voice of Crow) the Film Crew promises to deliver the old magic back.

In some ways it does. The riffing is certainly up to the old standards. Hollywood after dark is a horrible grainy grind house film featuring Golden Girl Rue McClanahan as a stripper.

The boys riff in vain but honestly, the movie was so slow and talky that there are places where riffing simply does not help the cinematic pain. For example the endless stripper scenes (no nudity and the woman look like Wal-Mart shoppers) provide very few laughs. There are only so many jokes you can make about cottage cheese thighs.

Since The Film Crew is a DVD exclusive creature, they were not restricted in content (unlike the television counterpart). I wish they had experimented on a more adult exploitation film such as one of the Ginger masterpieces. Though claims have been made that their riffing is more adult in nature, I really did not notice despite Hollywood After Dark’s stripper theme.

Had this been a MST3K episode, it would have likely been a middle of the road one. Moreover, truth be told, I miss the robots and the silly sci-fi set-up. The film crew does contain a “lunch break” where the boys engage in some of the most painful comedy I have ever scene. (Admittedly, some of MST3K’s “commercial breaks” were just as painful) The Film Crew is better than nothing, but alas it is a somewhat faded copy of the original’s magic.

Because Rue McClanahan died today, I decided to finally watch this sleazy grindhouse fare she made in the '60s, not to dishonor her memory, but to honor that she made it past this period to get great roles in "Maude" and, especially, "The Golden Girls". This is the first time I've also watched "The Film Crew", a post-"MST3K" project created by and starring Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy. They're workers made to comment on bad movies on videocassette by their boss, Bob Honcho, whose voice we hear on the phone while the camera shows his picture. Okay, seeing Ms. McClanahan strip isn't too sleazy here since we don't see her boobs (or any of the other strippers') and they're intercut with audience reactions. It's the story itself that brings some of that vibe. The hilarious riffing concerns the jazz score which brings plenty of name dropping, a robbery when there's no dialogue, and sexual innuendo. The scenes set during lunch break, not to mention the last one with a dummy and an extra about an ode to lunch, varies from pretty funny to not so but they're interesting to watch too. Okay, so by itself, I wouldn't recommend Hollywood After Dark, but with the often-funny commentary, definitely!