IT’S JUST A JOKE: THE MOVIE PARODY BLOGATHON – Day 1 Recap

Happy Saturday, blog enthusiasts! It’s time to salute some world-class bloggers who contributed critiques of their favorite movie spoofs. So here we go with

If you haven’t read our blogathon’s entries yet, click on each of the individual blogs’ names to link to their entries. And click here to see our initial announcement of the blogathon.

Dell on Movies shafts, er, mines the blaxploitation genre for comedy gold with his take on Black Dynamite.

The Midnite Drive-In rocks out on the riches of improvisational comedy provided by This Is Spinal Tap, a “mockumentary” about a band whose volume is exceeded only by their hubris.

Realweegiemidget Reviews explains how the political satire Team America: World Police depicts powerful global leaders as mere puppets.

And finally, your faithful correspondent offers an alternate toke, er, take on Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, a lyrical revision of the 1936 anti-marijuana propaganda film.

We still have two days to go on the blogathon, so keep us bookmarked for more great blog entries. We love ya!

 

 

 

 

 

 

IT’S JUST A JOKE: THE MOVIE PARODY BLOGATHON is here!

Welcome! Keep us bookmarked for the next three days, as some gifted bloggers offer their takes on their favorite movie parodies — either spoofs of a particular genre, or a movie whose plotline sends up a particular style of movie or TV show.

If any blog entry below is highlighted, click on the movie’s title to link to that blog entry. If you are a blogger who’s submitting your entry, please post your blog’s name and the entry’s URL in the “Comments” section below, and I’ll link to it ASAP. You are allowed to submit your entry at any time between Sept. 1 and 3 (although as I always say, the sooner the better!)

Here’s the line-up:

Silent-ology – Show People (1928)

The Dream Book Blog – Smile (1975)

The Midnite Drive-In – This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Moon in Gemini – Soapdish (1991)

Realweegiemidget Reviews – Team America: World Police (2004)

Movie Movie Blog Blog – Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005)

Dell on Movies – Black Dynamite (2009)

REEFER MADNESS: THE MOVIE MUSICAL (2005) – Everybody must get stoned

The following is my entry in It’s Just a Joke: The Movie Parody Blogathon, being hosted at this blog from Sept. 1-3, 2017. Click on the above banner, and read bloggers’ takes on a wide variety of movie spoofs, either as genre parodies or plot devices!

Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical is a heady, sweaty mix of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Little Shop of Horrors, and Monty Python that should be eagerly devoured by fans of outrageous black comedy and be energetically avoided by everyone else.

As you might or might not know, Reefer Madness began life as a 1936 propaganda movie, telling an eerie tale about the evils of marijuana that was entirely based on nonfactual theories — chief among them that marijuana would lead its users to immorality, insanity, and jazz piano. This musical version is an obvious take-off on the original, with a cast that has a ball with the concept, including Kristen Bell, “SNL” vet Ana Gasteyer, and Alan Cumming playing a smug narrator with perfect pitch.

Be forewarned that this is comedy at its blackest. The gore gets laid on a little thick, there’s a blasphemous musical number (shades of Monty Python’s “Christmas in Heaven”) that won’t do liberals any favors, and the finale tries for social commentary after one-and-three-fourth-hours of campy fun. But in the end, this version gives a hilarious nose-thumbing to those who are all too willing to let jingoists do their thinking for them. It’s an absolute hoot.

Announcing IT’S JUST A JOKE: THE MOVIE PARODY BLOGATHON

We could all use a good laugh right about now. Hence, we announce the opening of

IT’S JUST A JOKE: THE MOVIE PARODY BLOGATHON

Rules for the Blogathon

Write a blog about one of your favorite movie parodies. It can be from any era (remember that Chaplin, Keaton, Stan Laurel, and The Three Stooges did various film parodies). It can be a single film parody or a series (such as the Austin Powers trilogy). Or, if you enjoy a movie director or team that is famous mostly for parodies (Mel Brooks, Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker), you can write about either a single movie parody they did or about their complete filmography of parodies.

Since there are plenty of blogging possibilities, I ask for no duplicate entries in this blogathon. However, refer to the variations above. (For example, if someone has already chosen Blazing Saddles, you could blog about all of the movie parodies that Mel Brooks has done.)

As entry requests come in, I will continually update the listing of them on this blogathon announcement — so before you enter, look below and be sure your request isn’t already taken.

How Do I Join the Blogathon?

In the “Comments” section at the bottom of this blog, please leave your name, the URL of your blog, and the movie parody you are choosing to blog about. At the end of this blog entry are banners for the ‘thon. Grab a banner, display it on your blog, and link it back to this blog.

The blogathon will take place from Friday, Sept. 1, through Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. When the opening date of the blogathon arrives, leave a comment here with a link to your post, and I will display it in the list of entries (which I will continually update up to the beginning of the ‘thon, so keep checking back!).

I will not be assigning particular dates to any blog posts. As long as you get your entry in by the end of the day on Sept. 3, I will be satisfied. (That said, the earlier the better!)

Again, be sure to leave me a comment and grab a banner, and have fun with your blog entry!

Here’s the line-up so far, in chronological order:

Silent-ology – Show People (1928)

The Dream Book Blog – Smile (1975)

The Midnite Drive-In – This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Moon in Gemini – Soapdish (1991)

Realweegiemidget Reviews – Team America: World Police (2004)

Movie Movie Blog Blog – Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005)

Dell on Movies – Black Dynamite (2009)