Guest MST3K: 213
Godzilla Vrs The Sea Monster. I have to admit it, I've never been a fan of the guys in big rubber suits genre. Many years ago when I was watching MST3K for the first time, I cringed whenever I realized we were in for a Gamera or Godzilla flick. I must say though that this one did seem to have unusually peppy music, and the zippy dance numbers were fun as well. But, just like any Japanese rubber extravaganza, I didn't understand alot. What was going on with the dance marathon at the start? Why did the master thief invite the three trespassers to spend the night on the yacht he was stealing? Why... oh, never mind. The point of this movie, like all of its ilk, is to see rubber monsters stomping on models and each other. I did however find this movie sorta endearing with its goofy charm. Tiny miniature singing twins, Japa-naizes, and catchy dance numbers were all fun, even before the monsters came on in full swing.
What this movie taught me: If for some reason you feel a need to wake up Godzilla, it makes sense to do this by rigging up a copper necklace to deliver a lightning bolt, thus insuring that he's in a really, really bad mood when he does get going. Only wimps would think of trying to make a big noise or something first.
Despite my misgivings of all things Godzilla, I took an instant liking to this episode with the first host segment. I just love it for some reason when Joel does nurturing things like reading a story to the bots. "Do ALL the voices!" The invention exchange was a winner as well. Loved the facial expressions on Joel as he grimaced musically. And the mad's "music" segment was great as well. Seeing Frank in shades and his black chauffeur's uniform really worked. I didn't expect to like the genesis of Godzilla segment, but the rhyming beat poetry format quickly won me over. And it does make sense that if Joel did ever crack from the strain of being marooned in space, he's react by building bizarre little models of places on earth. I kinda wish that theme had been expanded on more in the next segment, though it was still nice hearing Mike do his Mothra impression. The entries in the "Cool thing" contest were indeed cool. And the bit about Dr. F "spearheading the committee" had me laughing.
It took JatB a long time to enter the theater. Well, only a minutes or two, but I missed them anyways. Once there, though, the riffing was solid and well paced. I was relieved that there weren't as many drawn butter jokes as there might have been, thought the Planet of the Apes riff got old fast. Still, it was a solid effort all around. A good episode, and one that puts me in a better frame of mind for watching other Best Brains treatment of Japanese monster flicks.
My 3 favorite riffs:
(Dinner time aboard the boat)
Wow, Steve is really delicious!
(Our heroes scale a cliff.)
Oh no guys, we got rock climbing! [Various groans]
(Our heroes make a made escape attempt, dodging bullets!)
Oh, Scooby-san!
