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Blogus Festivus: The Movie
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Buzz Kilman, Wendy Snyder,
Piranha Man, Hank the Crank, Pedro, and many more. |
| MPAA Rated: |
It's not rated but it's not for
the kids. |
| Released By: |
Flapper Girl Pictures |
| Kiddie Movie: |
Nope. Some swearing and
urinating. |
| Date Movie: |
She might find it as bizarre as
you. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
Nah. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Nah. |
| Action: |
Nah. |
| Laughs: |
Some good chuckles. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
Wendy and Piranha Man singing "I
Got You Babe." |
| Memorable
Quote: |
"I’m a fat guy wearing black on a
sunny day like this – I’m gonna die up there." - Gigolo Johnny |
| Directed By: |
Joseph H. Denk |
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Blogus Festivus: The Movie
A Video/DVD Review |
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Those of you who don’t live in Chicago or didn’t
listen to Buzz Kilman and Wendy Snyder when they were doing mid-days
on the radio in Chicago are most likely saying to yourself "What the
hell is a ‘Blobus Festivus’ and why the hell is there a movie about
it?" Well I’m here to try to explain.In simplest terms, "Blobus
Festivus" was a music festival, part of one of those city festivals we
all know and love during the summer months. "Blobus Festivus: The
Movie" is a documentary, detailing the events surrounding the
development of Blobus Festivus" as well as the follow-up, namely "The
Rest of the Festivus For The Rest of Us." "Alright," you may be saying
to yourself now, "What is so interesting about seeing how some bands
are brought together for a festival?" I’ll tell you this - if you
invest a short 45 minutes to watch this video the preceding question
will pale in comparison to the "There’s no fucking way this was really
a city festival, was it?"
The documentary starts off simply showing how "Blobus Festivus" was
sort of born, out of love for the theme from the movie "The Blob." It
travels quickly from there to the introduction of a cast of seemingly
unbelievable characters, through some rehearsals and pre-festival
partying, finally leading us to the festival itself. All seems to be
going well as The Poppycocks (or as Pedro calls them, "The Poopycocks")
take the stage, Ralph Covert leads a group of adults singing a song
about a cow, we get some Elvis, Gigolo Johnny delights the crowd, and
how can I almost forget The Buzzards featuring Hank the Crank. Evil
Beaver does its best not to scare the crowd, but then just as Buzz and
The Blobs take the stage, well, mother nature shows who is in charge
and this event, larger than life with a script you could never dream
up, comes to a halt. But does it?
Buzz Kilman, always doing his best to please his fans, or at least
have a good time, decides on the spot that the festivus must go on. We
are then transported to a bar at a later date for "The Rest of the
Festivus For The Rest of Us," featuring Hank getting a date with the
hubba-la-bubbula Lisa, and the "it will forever stick in your head"
cover of "I’ve Got You Babe" featuring Wendy Snyder and the one and
only Piranha Man. Intermixed throughout the documentary we get Piranha
Man’s view on life, B.S. just wanting a t-shirt, Pedro’s testament of
his whereabouts in case some cars get broken into, and Buzz playing
with his dismembered-finger key chain. Yes, all of this is real.
There was a fake documentary, a few years ago, about a small town
beauty pageant called "Drop Dead Gorgeous." It was full of colorful
characters, was slightly entertaining, but those "fake" people are
nothing compared to the eclectic mix of individuals featured for "Blobus
Festivus," and the best part is that this event really happened. You
could have probably even added another 45 minutes out of the 30 hours
of footage that was shot, made this thing into a full-length
documentary, shown it at Sundance, and had a movie people would think
was the greatest staged documentary as opposed to the people who saw
"Blair Witch" thinking it was real, although I wonder what the MPAA
would rate it leaving in the scene of Evie Evil in the bathroom?
Now, as big a fan I am of Wendy and Buzz, I didn’t go to "Blobus
Festivus" mostly because I watch The Weather Channel and saw what was
coming. And fine, curse me because I didn’t go to "The Rest of the
Festivus For The Rest of Us," but honestly, after seeing the
documentary, it was almost better not being there live. I think being
there almost might have ruined the sense of awe that came over me as I
watched the video.
There were a couple of things I found odd, or might have changed
for the documentary. First, I found it odd that a documentary about a
festival developed around the theme from "The Blob" didn’t include
Buzz and The Blobs covering the song. Second, I still don’t know if I
like the dimly lit bar footage, but I guess that gives it a degree of
realism. And lastly, I would have preferred even more footage, maybe
of the rainstorm, maybe more of the bands, and a lot more of Lisa.
Maybe that will come on the director’s cut or the DVD version if they
are ever made.
In the end, if you want to see a short documentary on a festival
you will not ever have believed happened, drop the few bucks and order
the video because it's not in your local video store (use the link
below). It’s documentary making at its bizarrest. 4 ½ stars out of 5.
Submit this one to the Academy and go for that short documentary
award, although I don’t know if they’ll appreciate the reinforcement
that women should always wipe from back to front.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!! |