Episode 278: Musical Warm Up: The Clash, The Ramones, Dewey Cox, Val Kilmer, and Meat Loaf
CatBusRuss has a fun episode lined up next week in regards to a feature that has a musical status that is debatable. It has plenty of musical numbers, but its themes may overshadow the brilliant use of song and dance. To get you warmed up for that discussion with Luna Gray from iHorror.com, our host went back in the archives for more movies that do not scream musical, but song is a critical part of them.
Next weeks conversation (Visit Russ's Letterboxd if you want a clue.) will be about a classic horror feature while the films he will be reviewing this week lean more comedic. To try and smooth the transition out, CatBus decided to watch Meat Loaf's return to big screen musicals in "Stage Fright" (2014). It is an admirable effort, but not worthy to share its title with the Michele Soavi classic.
To Russ's credit, the next feature he reviews was produced by exploitation maestro, Roger Corman, and perhaps shadow directed by horror legend Joe Dante. "Rock 'n' Roll High School" only serves as a horror feature for mice. Otherwise, it is a fun way to introduce your friends to The Ramones.
Our host likes the work of Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Marky Ramone, but he personally prefers the punk rock of Great Britain. So how could he resist watching a movie celebrating Joe Strummer? "London Town" is a heart-warming tale of an English boy learning to love everything punk (except the Sex Pistols, but nobody is perfect) through the guidance of the face of The Clash portrayed by Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
Sticking with the punk theme, Russ revisits "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story". John C. Reilly's comedic tribute to one of America's first music punks, Johnny Cash, features an all star cast and the most absurdist take on the life of the Man in Black. It is R-Rated content that is reminiscent of "The Kentucky Fried Movie".
KFM may have been directed by John Landis, but it was written by Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker. They would go on to write and direct "Airplane!", but there best narrative maybe the Val Kilmer vs. Communist musical comedy, "Top Secret!" Was all the surfer rock needed? Our host may be conflicted.
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