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| He conquers them with laughter and love! |
Comedy Central
December 21, 1991
Riffing
VHS
B+
This remains a holiday classic, one I've watched so often that random phrases will come back to me, like "Kimar is the savings place." There are many, many memorable quotes, some from the riffing and some from the wretched film itself. Joel and the Bots mock the acting, direction, writing, special effects, sets, and "custumes," and yet somehow fail to notice the horrible makeup jobs, where the Martians' greenness varies from scene to scene. Still, the references to entertainment and politics (including "Joseph Biden" and Clarence Thomas) more than make up for this, as does their characterization of Santa as a tough, drunken Vietnam vet. For once, the segments in between the movie scenes don't drag things down, from the invention/gift exchanges to the timeless rendition of "A Patrick Swayze Christmas." There are some sweet, sentimental moments here, as befits the season, but the snark is as strong as ever.
Note that the most recognizable performer in SCCM is not Pia Zadora (whose Golden Globe is frequently referenced, as the little girl on the screen gives as clueless a performance as in Hairspray), but Ned Wertimer as Andy Henderson, later Ralph the Doorman on The Jeffersons, although the shows I've tagged him for are That Girl, Welcome Back, Kotter, and Mork & Mindy. Frank De Vol is tagged since he did the music for SCCM and made onscreen appearances on Gidget and That Girl, but I was never able to fit in his tag for an onscreen appearance on The [overcrowded] Brady Bunch, which he also composed for.
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