Notzilla

I'll harken back to Vincent Canby's review of Phantom of the Paradise where he points out that you can't make a parody of something that is already so ridiculous. The premise of Notzilla is nothing original, it sets to spoof the long tradition of Japanese monsters, namely Godzilla. What sets this film apart is that despite the infinite spoofs of Godzilla films in the past, their hasn't really been a full length one. (Well technically that's not true, there are films like Death Kappa and the X from Outer Space Strikes Back. In retrospect some of the films it attempts to parody are already parodies in an of themselves). Notzilla doesn't really do anything different then your average episode of MST3K does. A film like this has to tell you what to laugh at and sometimes literally spelling out the joke.

The main issue that Notzilla has is it's length. The jokes and humor becomes constantly repetitive. This is a genre that has always been mocked and derided so you really have to be inventive in developing some original jokes. And every single joke is exactly what one expects. Add to that a copious amount of flatulence humor and it runs itself a bit thin. It can fill up a short, but not necessarily a feature length film. Also there tries to be an emotional story with the Japanese scientist and the woman scientist but it the film's tone and acting works against it. It wouldn't be all bad if the film didn't focus on it since you barely get any monster action.

The effects are unfortunately more reminiscent of Full Moon projects like Zarkor or Kraa. They lack the campy artistry of the old Godzilla flicks, or even the silly creativity of the Gamera films. I'd say more miniature sets instead of the use of rear projection would be nice. It's more of a parody of what general audiences picture old Godzilla movies to be, rather than a genuine deconstruction or parody. Simply put the effects in this makes something like Godzilla vs. Megalon look like Jurassic Park (And no, it supposed to look like that is not a valid excuse, you need to actually put in some actual effort).

If one is looking for an intelligent parody that takes apart the genre and flip some tropes then this won't really satisfy. There are a few laughs to be had but the end result is overall a miss.

This was an extremely cheap and low budget spoof so I wasn't expect much, but man is the "humor" and acting in this just real cringeworthy. There was only one visual gag with a train that was interesting but most of the stuff was very obvious and too on the nose. And for a supposed monster movie, most of it deals with the scientist's story which is quite boring and uninteresting. Lord wonders when actual good spoof movies make a comeback.

As the name implies, Notzilla is a very silly homage to the classic Godzilla movies. Everything is stylistically on-point - the miniatures, the multiple levels of rear-projection, the rubber suit! Incredibly over-the-top - think Airplane! with a side of Space Balls, and just a hint of Duck Soup. Short and surprisingly sweet, Notzilla provides some much-needed giggles right now.

This movie is just so enjoyably bad. This is a film that knows it's cheap and leans into it hard. But for the kind of film they're making fun of, that cheapness works. The cartoony sexism, the bad puns, the cliche dialogue, it all works perfectly within the cheap sci-fi genre that inspired the movie. The blatantly low budget suit on the monster has got to be my personal favorite. His goofy eyes and obvious zipper are honestly hilarious when you see him moving around and doing things like playing football with a zeppelin. And every actor really gives their all to the stupidity and bless them for it. I would take this over something like "Epic Movie" or "Disaster Movie" any day. The filmmakers took their microscopic budget and ran with it in a way that is sure to please people like me that appreciate old-school fifties science fiction films that take themselves too seriously. Not for everyone, but definitely worth watching if you can appreciate something that is just utterly goofy by design.

I know there will be people that will say I'm nuts for giving this 8 stars. Here's the thing, this is a fun ride!!!!! Its everything you can want from a Godzilla parody and it's a pretty self aware flick. It knows it's not a big budget block buster and it runs with it. (Although it should get an Oscar for best use of green army men in a motion picture.) Let's be honest, it's not going to be for everyone. But if you want to watch a fun flick that's actually funny and well written you can't go wrong here. Seriously check it out, grab a bowl of popcorn, have a beer, sit back and enjoy. It'll be worth it.