Movies

And that's saying a lot. Rent this if you want to be staggered by oddness, blown away by one of the most bizarre scripts, direction, and casting in the history of films. I'm staggered. I can't believe I watched it. I'm a big Bernadette Peters fan, normally- but this tested my resolve. Don't read any more reviews here, it's best if you know nothing about the plot. Just rent it. You won't believe what you're seeing.......

Before "Bicentenial Man"... there was a group of robots... I watched this movie one time, 20 years ago, but I still remember it fondly. I have always thought of it as an allegory, centered around two robots who "grow up" through their wild, teenage years, have a child and face crises together. They finally discover the meaning of love, in a way that is deeper than just being fond of each other, as they sacrifice for each other. I was so impressed with this movie that I can still recall much of the dialog. I remember the jokes and plot twists. The movie is light-hearted, funny and insightful and is even poignant at times.

This is an expensive comedy that forgot to be funny and proved to be a huge flop upon release. Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters star as robots in a future time when domestic robotic servants are commonplace. They run away from a repair warehouse and wander the countryside, falling in love along the way. The cast includes Randy Quaid, Kenneth McMillan, Christopher Guest, Melanie Mayron, Dick Miller, Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, and the voice of Jack Carter. The elaborate robots, a mix of costume and makeup, were made by Stan Winston. The partially electronic score is by John Williams. Despite all of that talent, it's pretty awful, with no real story, and the attempted jokes just land flatly, partially because I was expecting Kaufman's usual brand of humor and got something completely different. The failure of this ended whatever big screen chances controversial comedian Kaufman had.