EPISODE 1 DUAL REVIEW: Buckaroo Banzai

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension - 1984

Director: Michael Arick

Starring: Peter Weller, John Lithgow

Welcome to the 2018 BackLOG Reviews, new box, and new reviewer to the mix! Da girlfriend :) So this is a dual review, one from me, one from her down below! This will happen from time to time, love to hear your thoughts! Anyway, off we go:

Joey's Review:

Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, and Peter Weller must have had a hell of a night as the only reason I can fathom someone participating in a movie like Buckaroo Banzai is if they got arrested and had to do community service at the local film school. Now, don’t confuse this for pure dislike here. I enjoyed this movie, but I’ve always felt that if you’re going venture down that realm of ludicrous, silly, low-budget parody, it’s really best to go full retard.

Buckaroo Banzai (or The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension) is one of those films that you’ll watch and immediately start recognizing how future sci-fi was influenced by it. Back to the Future, Men in Black, Star Trek: TNG, there’s a lot of themes here, perhaps because they all looked back and said “I really think we can do this a whole lot better.”

Buckaroo Banzai and the
Hong Kong Cavaliers. Whitewashing
was a thing in the 80s too, kids.

We pick up the journey with Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers, a quintessentially 80’s rock band comprised of a bunch of white guys who are also scientists trying to find a pass through solid matter. Succeeding in these efforts, they accidentally pass through the 8th Dimension, which freaks out the “to-the-point-of-racist” black alien residents who are suddenly concerned that some other crazy cracker is going to invade their turf. I mean…to be fair…it’s a pretty legit fear. War is threatened and our white-washed heroes have to stop the evil madman before the black guys just decide to burn this whole mutha’ down.

It’d be unfair to say it was more subtle than that, but this was during an age in film where, if you were black, you were either speaking in Ebonics or trying to ride on Richard Pryor’s coattails. I’ll blame sign of the times. We’re such tight-asses nowadays that movies like this or Airplane, shown to the Social Justice Warrior community, would get picked apart for such nuances like “why is he speaking in a Jamaican accent,” but alas, it’s hard to just say “maybe they just wanted the distinction REALLY damn clear.”

80's movie mandated sex symbol and
some broad hogging the shot.

Buckaroo Banzai makes a solid attempt at being good, campy fun, but falls a bit short to me because it just feels too dry. “Wouldn’t it be funny if a girl about to blow her brains out gets stopped by the scientist rock band members, each of whom is wielding their own gun in the middle of a performance for some reason?” I mean…maybe when recalled over beers two days later, but in execution, it just didn’t play out too humorous. The movie was full of these moments of “I see how that could be funny later…” For the record, I have the same feeling about most Judd Apatow movies. Maybe I’m just bad at this.

I don’t know, I’m happy I watched this…but there’s just nothing memorable except the damn name. Campy cult classics usually give you something to hold on to, but this didn’t. It’s was tolerable to the point of…eh. I can bring it up with hardcore movie and sci-fi nerds and we’ll go “yeah, Buckaroo Banzai!” and then…nothing will happen after that.

Like I said, lots of influences that I can see in things that came after it, but that’s not always a good thing. If you’ve followed the BackLOG, you’ll know I have a quarter jar for this: but it had a lot of promise, but just didn’t live up to it. I don’t think I’m the only one who felt that way though so thanks Buckaroo for the ideas, but let others handle the execution and enjoy 6 dustbusters out of 10 for your trouble.

Samantha's Review:

You know how people say things like “I’m too old for this shit?” Well…I’m too young for this shit. When it comes to a movie titled Buckaroo Banzai, while I can fully appreciate why some people love this film, I…just…can’t….

First, while watching this movie, Joey is having the time of this life seeing bits and pieces of things that may or may not have influenced or been influenced by other things…they are things I’ve never even seen. I don’t remember the 80s. My mom does and she hated the 80s. It’s safe to say that certain things I didn’t understand. I appreciated the homage from Back To The Future with the fast car speeding around but…that’s about it on that aspect. After that is where I get lost.

The racial overtones couldn't
have been more prevalent if their
spaceship was a large powered donut.

I couldn’t tell you if I was confused at the Rockstar Scientists…yes…ROCKSTAR SCIENTISTS….because that’s real life. Having a PhD in Physics and a PhD in Bass Guitar and being able to be a physicist and be on tour with your tubular rockband…totally realistic. I may have also been confused by the fact that EVERYONE in this film HAS A GUN. No joke. Every human being is packing. This is a pretty consistent thing that happens through the film. All of a sudden everyone has a gun. Even the, like, 8 year old kid is sporting a mini spray and pray. This is where I completely stop paying attention. Not intentionally, mind you. I don’t think my brain could understand what the holy hell was happening between Rockstar Scientists, carrying at least a shotgun in their back pocket, and tons of old scifi references that I didn’t understand because I wasn’t even a fetus yet…my understandings of this movie really consist of me asking Joey every 15 minutes what was happening even when I had my eyes on the television instead of Facebook.

To be fair to the film, Joey pulled it from the box and when he read the title of “Buckaroo Banzai” I immediately knew I was going to not give a shit. He did inform me that this is a cult classic, and I like some cult classic flicks. I also completely get why this movie has a cult following. It’s in the same realm as The Room. A film that’s so awful it’s good. I know that Joey did enjoy aspects of this movie but…this is where my age shows. I just don’t get it. I don’t understand the wardrobe, or the references (apparently there were Star Trek things…I’ve never seen Star Trek), or even the humor. I’m just…too young for this shit.

Overall, I give this film a 3 out of 10. I can’t relate, I don’t get it, I couldn’t even pay attention, BUT I did laugh AT HOLY SHIT EVERYONE HAS A GUN AGAIN moments.