Music Box — Friday and Saturday (11/25 and 11/26), Midnight
This buddy comedy about two California teenagers (Alex Winter and
Keanu Reeves) trying to make up for lost academic time is both dated
and, well, excellent. Faced with the prospect of failing History class
and Ted being shipped to military school, the pair of wannabe rock stars
is visited by a mysterious figure from the future (George Carlin). He
gives them a time machine disguised as a telephone booth, and they go
on something of a road trip through the past to collect historical figures
for a last-chance final project. Stops in ancient Greece, Napoleonic
France, the Wild West, and the Mongol Empire show a simplification of
events the target audience (12-18 year old males) could easily relate
to. But, from this boiling down of history to the "important truths,"
the film gets its biggest laughs with a collision of historical stereotypes
and 80s suburban staples. Knowing Napoleon only as a "short, dead
dude," we get blindsided by the ridiculous image of him wearing a
bib while conquering "the single greatest ice cream spectacle known
to man" and battling lines at the local water park. Inevitably, the
pair manages to overcome familiar teenage obstacles (house chores and
the cops), make it to school on time, and give a rock star presentation
with the help of their new friends. These dudes are dumb, but they're
so harmless you have to root when they get inspired. The first in what
would turn out to be a line of slacker pairs to grace the big screen
as the 90s began, it is a clever little film about just getting by,
and doing it in style. (1989, 90 min, 35mm) JH - Cine-File.info
