I’d hazard a guess that any nerd/geek/what have you worth their salt has seen at least one episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. If not, that’s ok too. It certainly isn’t a pre-requisite to have seen the show to know that making fun of awful movies makes them bearable. That said, MST3k/Rifftrax/Cinematic Titanic are the undisputed kings of “riffing” on movies. The episode of MST3K featuring “Manos: The Hands of Fate” (yes, technically it means Hands: The Hands of Fate) is widely considered one of the best, if not the best episode of the series. So when the Rifftrax crew, consisting of venerable MST alums Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy decided to re-riff this “classic” I was a bit skeptical. Sure, the MST Manos had different riffers, but Mike was still the head writer, so was this going to be a rehash? Based on that, I almost didn’t go to the one-night-only showing. That would have been a huge mistake.
As soon as I entered the theater, I knew I was in for a treat. The cosplayers in Gizmonics Institute jumpsuits and Torgo hats gave off an incredibly geeky Rocky Horror style vibe. In all honesty, I could see myself going to see this movie on weekends with these people and enjoying the hell out of the experience. When the lights went down, we were treated to what we thought were the usual movie-going slides with trivia and such. Instead, we got a very snarky version of same with movie facts like: There is only one result if you Google “Gordy is a better movie than Babe” (we checked. not true, but still funny).
When the show itself started, the three riffers came up (live via film) to podiums by the big screen to introduce themselves and the movie. Since Manos isn’t a very long movie (although it sure feels longer), a couple of shorts were shown first. Welcome Back, Norman was the first, and dealt with a bumbling 70’s guy arriving home from the airport and all of the trials and tribulation that befall him there. At the end of the short, the audience was encouraged to all say Norman’s catchphrase (a low-pitched wail of despair) in unison. I love audience participation in the movie theater, and this was one of my highlights of the night. The second short was At Your Fingertips: Cylinders. It was even more inane and nonsensical than it sounds, but Mike, Kevin, and Bill’s dulcet tones made it bearable. In one last segment before the movie proper started (it was pretty obvious they were trying to delay the inevitable for as long as possible), the crew gave a bit of history about this turdburger of a movie. I actually learned a few things about the movie I wasn’t aware of before, and this knowledge served me well when the movie proper started, as the Rifftrax crew used those factual callbacks to poke fun at the flick itself.
Speaking of the movie and riff therof, I shouldn’t have been worried at all. No riffs were re-used from the MST3K version, and to be honest, I think the new riff is better. With more general and topical references, a wider audience can enjoy the humor as opposed to the sometimes very obscure riffs in the original. One thing I very much enjoyed was how the big screen was utilized. Since Manos is a full frame feature, you got cutaways on the side of the screen showing the three riff-meisters emoting while they did their thing. It showed how much fun they were having, which in turn increased the fun I was having. I will say I think my fellow audience members and I did enjoy a lot of the film’s earlier moments with all of the Texas-centric jokes (Manos was filmed in El Paso), but everyone was floored with such gems as the “Redneck Twilight” sketch. Here’s a small taste of the humor contained within:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MckN7UGFINE
Even when the movie was over, the fun wasn’t, as we were treated to a music video/exclusive footage from the cast of the upcoming sequel Manos: The Search for Valley Lodge. All in all, this was an incredibly fun diversion, and I know I’m going to be buying the inevitable DVD release. If you want to get in on the fun, you can get your tickets now for the next Rifftrax: Live! event in October which will feature the movie Birdemic. If you are a fan of MST3k, Manos, or just making fun in movies in general, head on over to the Rifftrax website where they don’t make movies, but they do make them funny!