A redubbing of the 50’s classic THE BLOB by the So Cal comedy troupe the L.A. Connection, complete with added-on special effects (such as a cartoon mouth for The Blob). Is it funny? Yes. Is it stupid? Of course. Is it worth seeing? Certainly, but I’d recommend viewing the original version first.
They’re called “Mad Movies:” cheesy old flicks redubbed by the L.A. Connection, who turn their already comedic source material (which includes bad movie classics like GLEN OR GLENDA and CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON) into feature length stand-up routines. Back in the late eighties the LAC were something of a fixture at L.A.’s famous Nuart Theater, where they’d do their redubbing before a live audience. That seems to have dried up in recent years, but the LAC still practice their “act” in a specialized venue in Sherman Oaks, CA, and have even managed to land a legitimate DVD release of one of their most popular efforts: 1989’s BLOBERMOUTH.
Surely you know THE BLOB: Steve McQueen’s debut film, a 50’s cheapie about a meteor that crashes to earth one night, unleashing a mass of carnivorous slime on an unsuspecting town. I’ve never been a huge fan (I much prefer Toho’s H-MAN, which to me will always be the ultimate blob movie), but I do recognize that it is a fun flick.
For BLOBERMOUTH, the LAC went all out. Sponsored by Jack H. Harris, THE BLOB’S original producer, they not only utilized their standard practice of throwing out the original soundtrack and replacing it with their own voices and music, but also added a talking cartoon mouth for the blob (thus turning it into a literal “Blobermouth”) and a number of music video interludes.
Any trace of THE BLOB’S original plot has pretty much been obliterated by the L.A. Connection, who’ve laid in their own silly story about dueling stand-ups. Everything in this film is meant to be funny, but, needless to say, that’s not always the result. The “Raunchy Gross Humor” promised by the DVD cover is in scant evidence, although the LAC do cross the line in one scene by putting sexual innuendo into a little kid’s mouth, which even I found offensive.
But anyway: Steve, an aspiring stand-up comedian, finds his career threatened by the arrival of a “Blobermouth” from Venus. The Blobermouth is a mass of goo with a cartoon mouth that tells reeeeeally lame jokes (“a vasectomy means never having to say you’re sorry!”); it likes to glom onto people and grows steadily larger by the minute. Steve has a comedy show set up the following night, but the Blobermouth is determined to disrupt it.
Over the next day Steve tries his best to stop the Blobermouth, but ends up blowing things by starting his program outside a movie theater ahead of schedule. The Blobermouth, upset that Steve has begun his show early, invades said movie theater, convincing the patrons to rush out and catch its own stand-up routine. But when the act crashes, the audience reacts by spraying the Blobermouth with whipped cream. It ultimately has the last laugh, though, as a representative for the Tonight Show is in the audience and likes what he sees—the Blobermouth ends up becoming a big success while Steve is reduced to delivering pizzas at the North Pole.
In addition to the rapid-fire gags, the LAC demonstrates a MST3K-like glee in pointing out the original film’s technical deficiencies (during a conspicuously under lit scene, we hear the cry: “Steve, where’s my head?”). As for BLOBERMOUTH’S technical aspects, well, let’s just say they do the job. The soundtrack, created from scratch by the LAC, is nothing to shout about—all the dialogue sounds like it was recorded in an echo chamber. And don’t even get me started on the hideous music video interludes and mid film recap of the story (I guess the filmmakers were worried we might have forgotten), which may well be the cheesiest things I’ve ever seen…and it doesn’t help that the music sucks, too.
Vital Statistics
BLOBERMOUTH
L.A. Connection Productions
Director: Kent Skov
Producer: Jack H. Harris
Screenplay: Steve Pinto, Kent Skov, Stephen L. Rollman
Editor: Chris Roth
Cast: Bob Bucholz, Connie Sue Cook, Frances Kelly, Steve Pinto, Stephen L. Rollman, Kent Skov