Silverman confuses being obnoxious with being funny
By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
A film noir set, the first season of a cutting edge television series and some Halloween programming are in this week's DVD column.
Elvira's Movie Macabre: Gamera Super Monster and They Came From Beyond Space
Our friends at Shout Factory have been releasing double features of classic Elvira episodes from the 1980s and this one is a peach for anyone who likes a movie that is so bad it's good.
If you don't remember Elvira, she was and still is a 1980s update on the horror film host character that seemed to be in every major television market from the 1950s to the 1970s. Actress, writer and comedian Cassandra Peterson's take was to create a sexy, but ghoulish, Valley Girl persona who would comment on the deficiencies of the film being presented.
For some horror purists, Elvira's contributions weren't welcomed, as they would rather just see the film without her comments and comedy bits. I wasn't one of those fans, though. Her remarks were funny and dead-on.
These two films are begging for a caustic commentary. "Gamera, Super Monster" is a delirious Japanese monster film featuring good guy Gamera, the super-powered turtle. In this film Gamera defends the earth from alien invasion. The man-in-monster suit effects coupled with an inane plot makes for a very guilty movie pleasure.
The other film, "They Came from Outer Space," is absolutely ghastly. A low-budget British production involving aliens who are taking over human's bodies, the film is incompetent on every conceivable level.
There's plenty of cheesy fun in this double feature.
For more information, log onto www.shoutfactory.com
The Sarah Silverman Program: Season One
I love cutting edge comedy, but I had never seen comic Sarah Silverman's Comedy Central series until its release on DVD.
I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, although Silverman has made a name for herself as a comic who trades off of her innocent good looks with a potty mouth and cutting worldview.
The issue many comics face is how to translate their stage act into a television or movie persona. Silverman's character is that of a self-absorbed, mean spirited child in an adult body surrounded by characters who support her despite her distinct lack of appreciation.
Imagine the most selfish and venal five-year-old possible and you'll have her character.
Each show has a theme of some sort about discovery made by Silverman's character and features at least one original musical number. They are like "After School Specials" on crack.
I just don't find that character funny. There are a few laughs in the shows, but not many. Most of the time I just wanted to strangle her.
If you must, you can learn more at www.comedycentral.com
Deadly Dames: Film Noir Collector's Set
Oh boy, if you like dramas with a dark edge, here are three you may not have heard of that are well worth discovering.
"Blonde Ice" is a little low-budget film from 1948 with a cast you've never heard of unless you're a hardcore film buff. That doesn't matter because the performances and story drive this relentless tale of ambition.
Leslie Brooks played Claire Cummings, a newspaper reporter who is determined to have wealth, position and power and it doesn't matter how she reaches her goal. Director Jack Bernhard knew how to get the most out of his cast and his budget and the result is a very successful film noir outing.
"Slightly Scarlet" from 1956 is one of those films that straddles the line between being an "A" and "B" film. The subject matter of crime, sex and politics certainly is "B" film territory, but the cast of Rhonda Fleming, Arlene Dahl and John Payne is certainly "A" list.
You might remember Payne from his great performance as the good-hearted attorney in "Miracle on 34th Street," but here he plays a character as sleazy as they come. Payne is a blackmailer working with the local mob boss who realizes he can get rid of the head of the crime syndicate if he feeds some information to the reform mayor in the city. He does so through the mayor's secretary and love interest played by Fleming.
At first she is repulsed by Payne's character, but then she is attracted to him, much to the distress of her younger sister, played by Dahl, who has some mental issues and has just been released from prison.
Director Allan Dwan allowed Payne to shine in the central amoral role.
The jewel of the set is Samuel Fuller's "The Naked Kiss," a 1964 film that remains genuinely shocking today. Constance Towers plays a prostitute who moves to a small town and reforms herself. She becomes a nurse's assistant at a children's hospital and leads a low-key life until she falls in love with the town's most prominent citizen.
Fuller alternates scenes that are soap opera-ish and sentimental with ones that are amazingly hard-edged for a rollercoaster ride of a film. There is a major plot twist that I assure you will leave your mouth agape.
This is a great set for any film buff. Log onto www.vicent.com for more details.
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