First of all: how did this “three riffer” riff of HOHH stacks up against the previously released one? Simply put, it blasts it out of the water. I watched the previous “three riffer” version over the weekend, and what struck me most was that there was considerable room for new riffs and plenty of riffs that could be retooled or just abandoned and replaced. While nothing they do is ever not funny, the old riff was not among their best efforts, IMO.
To my delight, that’s exactly what they did. I would estimate there were roughly 25 percent MORE riffs than the previous version, and that about 50 percent of the total riffs were new. The result was easily as consistently funny as the tightly-packed “Plan 9” or “Reefer Madness” riffs they did in previous shows, maybe funnier.
The other thing I noticed when watching the old version over the weekend was, well, how LONG the movie seemed, perhaps because much of it consists of people standing around talking to each other and strolling down hallways.
(“Reefer Madness” is 10 minutes shorter and it seemed, when I saw that show, to be just about a perfect running length for a show like this. “Plan 9” is actually a few minutes longer than HOHH, but the zaniness of the movie and the finely tuned riffing makes it seem like a lot less. That 70-80 minute time range seems to be ideal for average viewers who are not hardcore riffing fans.)
Again I was delighted that the writing team had jammed the script with so many more riffs — and really funny ones, of course — that I didn’t look at my watch once. It seemed like every character got his or her own running gag, and the endless variations on them kept people laughing.
As for the shorts, well, what can I say? Between the fanciness-hating supermarket witch and Coily’s brown paper cousin (did the character have a name?) the guys had plenty to work with. Another pair of gems.
(Graphics courtesy of Sabrina, aka @introvertedwife)
I also want to commend Paul F. Tompkins, who did a great job in unfamiliar terrain. They let him do a few minutes of material and he picked a bit with just the right tone, that didn’t go on too long. The sign of a pro. It took him a little while to get into the rhythm of the riffing, but once he did, he blended right in with Mike, Kevin and Bill. And his cameo during the feature was a nice break in the movie, inserted at a strategic moment.
Riff from the previous version that didn’t make it to tonight’s version that I kind of liked: “Hey, I guess you CAN push a rope uphill!”
Updated riff: “Sen. Ted Stevens” became “Congressman Barney Frank.”
Oh, and my theater was, again, about two-thirds full (maybe it’s the same few hundred people?) and people seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
Fave riff: “LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLadies?”
Your thoughts?
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This one put me in an awkward spot, since the other three shows fell on my summer and winter breaks. This one is smack dab in the middle of the school year, but luckily I don’t have class on Thursday nights. The problem was finding someone to go with, which is incredibly difficult. I did, however, manage to rope in a freshman who even researched MST3K and watched “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die” last night, and she was raring to go!
I ended up at the Randall 15 theater in Batavia (Illinois) and got there early, but dang, the theater got packed! So packed people had to sit next to me and my friend, and, being giggly college girls, I can’t imagine that being a pleasant experience.
I thought it was a fantastic show, and very fun to go with a relative “virgin” to the genre. The grocery fairy reminded me of the manager of the restaurant I work at, though…And anytime I can take cracks at my dorm with some of the riffs (hair in the drain, state of the food, a wang drawn on her forehead… ) is a good time to me.
The grocery short was #1, in order and in riffing. I think the best comments are “I can has freedom”, “Christine O’Donnall” Spelling? and, I forget the exact phrase but, “Uncle Ben’s gonna slap a bitch”. In my theater there was about a dozen people vs the 4-5 dozen that were here last time. And did anyone else OBSERVE the Nashville audience?
I do some iRiffing myself, and I about plotzed when [SPOILER ALERT I guess] “Paper and I” started. I’ve been looking for a copy of that short to riff for ages and haven’t been able to find it, and there were the guys doing it. And what a phenomenal job they were doing, too.
My local theater’s audience grows every time there’s a RiffTrax Live! and the audience gets more and more into it. Tonight they were cackling at the music before the show, and all through the grocery witch short.
And the audience practically erupted in laughter at “LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLadies?”
Cruel, though it may have been, I enjoyed Bill’s Aretha Franklin/Waffle House line.
“I’m Christine O’Donnell,” was rather choice, too.
The disurbing nature of the relationship between Willie and the Bag Demon cannot be understated. The kid’s expression made that short.
#2 — “Uncle Ben’s gonna have to cut a witch.”
“Richard, what’s wrong? You look like you saw a talking paper bag.” LMFAO!
My name is actually IS Darryl so that first joke “Everyone’s invited to the party… except for you Darryl.” was a bit more funny to the group I was with than they probably ever expected. We probably missed a good two minutes of jokes because of it. My favorite riff overall though was also “Is Uncle Ben gonna have to cut a bitch!?”.
Having said that I thought it was pretty good and an improvement on the past shows in terms of pacing, Paul’s joke about that cliched movie scene went on for a bit too long but it was still pretty good and not too obnoxious.
I was actually pretty shocked they didn’t make a callback to Spring Fever during Paper and I, it seemed like it was pretty obvious they’re very similar in concept.
What a great show!! The shorts were hilarious and the film’s riff was even better than before. During the witch short, I KNEW there had to be a Christine O’Donnell joke, and their was!! :-D
The Ben Rothlesburger joke was great! All of us here in Pittsburgh laughed so much at that one! “I can haz freedom?” made me laugh a lot too (I was talking about kittehs just a few hours before the show!)
Tompkins was great, although his jokes before the short started went on too long.
Here at the Pittsburgh showing, the show was sold out, which suprised me! Good thing I bought my tickets in advance! My girlfriend, who has never been introduced to Rifftrax until tonight, loved it.
Great show overall! I hope it comes out on DVD. (Speaking of, where’s our Reefer Madness DVD? ;))
P.S. That kid just HAD to blow that bag, didn’t he? :laugh:
Report from Branford, Ct.: During the shorts, when they would pan to the audience, it looked practically pitch black. Was that the same in other towns?
The funniest thing for me during HOHH was the psychiatrist with the straight hanging arms and his unique manner of speaking: ‘murder’ sounded like ‘mairder’ and, of course his insistance on pronouncing sedatives ‘sidatives’. Very refined.
No problem during the shorts but all during the main feature the speaking volume of, especially Bill and even more so Kevin, was piercingly LOUD!
It got close to I really couldn’t bare it.
They really need to balance the sound with the sound of the movie soundtrack-which of course is a frequent problem with the MST disc’s.
My companion was on and off of her cell during most of the movie-very annoying. Won’t bring her NEXT time.
Speaking of NEXT time, there was no announcement at the end of the night about a next show.
Didn’t they announce this Halloween show at the conclusion of the
Reefer Madness show?
My thoughts:
1. Did anyone else notice the supermarket witch looked like Madeline Kahn? I kind of wish they’d worked that in somehow.
2. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking “No Paper *whistle*” during the “world without paper” scenes.
3. Yes, the best riff by far was “lllllllllllladies” — delivered with perfect timing by Mike.
4. One of the digital downloads available at the link provided at the end of the event is the grocery short! I’ve got mine, have you gotten yours? (The riffs are slightly different — although the “Beard Completer” one still cracks me up!)
5. This was my first live RiffTrax Live (I have the Christmas one on DVD.) It was great! Tomorrow I’m going to my 3rd CT Live, in Boston. So its a Riff-Tastic Halloween for me!
Enjoyed the show very much. Not a very full theatre, but I stayed closer to home this time rather than heading up to Denver, like I usually do (and was actually surprised the provincial, conservative town I live in had it going on at two different places!).
Thought both shorts were absolutely great, and agree with others on the Uncle Ben riff; liquid would have come out of my nose if I had been sipping at that moment. Like Sampo, I too thought the talking paper bag had to be related to Coily, particularly when all the paper disappeared! As for the movie, I’m probably dating myself with this comment, but my favorite riff was the Paul Lynde/Templeton reference when they tossed the rat in the acid.
Great show as always. Like others here, I was waiting for a “no springs” callback when the paper started disappearing in that one short and was surprised it didn’t come. Good show all around. Funny, lame shorts. Lots of good new jokes during HOHH.
Unfortunately, I do have a “however” about this Rifftrax Live show. I’ve yet to be at one of these shows that didn’t experience at least a few technical problems or satellite feed problems due to weather conditions, etc. and I always see like comments here from others around the country, but the terrible experience we had tonight was totally preventable. We attended the Rifftrax Live show at Regal Cinema in Bowie, MD. The staff failed to turn on the simulcast feed until 8:10 PM, causing the paying customers to miss the pre-show on-screen jokes that always accompany these shows and the first 10 minutes of the show! Several customers had to go out to the lobby and complain repeatedly before anything was done and by then a substantial part of the show had been missed. Such indifference and incompetence by the theater staff is totally unacceptable given the the “special event” pricing of these shows. If they wish for customers to return to the Bowie, Maryland Regal Cinema for more live special events they’ll have to treat them better than that. It would be nice too if the folks that handle the technical arrangements and bookings for these Rifftrax shows would look at which theaters are doing a decent job and which ones aren’t so they can drop the bad ones from being able to carry these shows. It’s bad advertising for Rifftrax if people go to these shows and can’t enjoy them to the fullest. People will stop going if these kinds of problems become habitual at certain theaters.
#10 “No Paper *whistle*” Har, Steve, that would have been great! Lucky you, RT and CT back to back. I’m still waiting for CT to make a stop in Colorado. I’m sure they’d do great in Denver or Boulder, and I’d for sure arrange work schedules and drive wherever to catch them.
#13 Chicagoshirl you hit that right on target- They should totally come to Denver/Boulder! Where did you go- the Boulder show was about half full, lots of fun!
I had a blast, as usual. The size of our crowd was a little disappointing since the theater has been pretty packed for previous shows, but those who showed up were really into it. The shorts were amazing and I have to give a major shout out for Paul F. Tompkins. His “scary” story was great and he really seemed to get into the riffing. I’d love to hear him do a full movie with the guys. I can’t wait for the the next live show.
While I did enjoy the show, it did seem a little stale to me. Felt like a quick turnaround time from “Reefer Madness.”
But what really bugged me was how they ignored Elisha Cook, Jr. Here’s a guy who was in two classic movies — Wilmer the gunzel in “The Maltese Falcon” and the guy who called Jack Palance “A low down Yankee liar” in “Shane” — plus he was the guy who gave that bizarre courtroom speech in “Star Trek” citing the legacy of all these made up precedents that MST3K satirized at the end of “Last of the Wild Horses”, and all he gets are a few leprechaun jokes? That’s almost as bad as Mel Brooks spending 20 minutes in “Spaceballs” setting up a “Planet of the Apes” Statue of Liberty joke and not hiring Charlton Heston to scream “Damn you all to hell!”
Once again here’s my report from Albuquerque, NM
And just In case anyone wondered all the FREE goodies from tonight’s event are found at this website address – http://www.rifftrax.com/haunted
1. Again I went to the Rio 24 (that’s right it’s got 24 theaters!)
2. OVERALL Impression? – LOVED the show! The 2 shorts were fantastic and extremely funny ALMOST better than the 2 shorts for “Reefer Madness.” Film wise I still think “Reefer” was better than “House” but I laughed just as hard at both shows so there you go.
3. ATTENDANCE? – This one I think was actually slightly less attended than “Reefer Madness.” Not sure why because they missed another great show but again there you go.
4. BIGGEST Surprises? –
a) NO callback to Coily for “Paper & I” – C’MON seriously if ANY film is asking for a callback to that back it’s this short.
b) they actually “fired” Kevin mid-film for making a bad joke and brought Paul F. Tompkins in to replace him. they later let Paul go for making a bad joke and then brought Kevin back (a big but funny surprise to be sure…)
c) That they didn’t end with either music or a skit during the credits.
d) That “House On Haunted Hill” wasn’t that great. I’d read and heard that HoHH was SUCH a true classic horror/psycho drama but I thought the plot just didn’t hold up or make much sense so I just don’t get the hype &/or praise on this one.
5. NON-MST3K related onstage comments? – Paul F. Thompkins was fine and yes pretty funny. But just like Weird Al he didn’t seem to riff that much and I almost wished he’d come on and just do a few minutes more of comedy instead of trying to riff with Mike, Kevin & Bill. And yes I STILL wish Al would’ve done a song or 2 instead of riff with them for their X-mas ’09 show too.
3. HIGHLIGHT Riffs? – I can’t remember everything obviously and I may be paraphrasing but I’ll suggest…:
“Uncle Ben’s gonna cut a witch!”
“Vote For Christine O’Donnell!”
“And a young David Lynch suddenly realizes his calling”
The whole “drunk Frank Lloyd Wright” riffs
“I bet he’d Chuck her Yeager anyday”
“it’s Alice Cooper’s grandma on roller skates!”
“Seditives”
“LLLLLLLLadies?”
The usage of “It’s close to midnight” lyric from MJ’s “Thriller” for one scene with Vincent Price
The usage of the “What’s Happening?” theme when somebody asked that question in the film
“What’s the matter Pritchard? – You look like you just saw a talking paper bag”
4. JOKES I did NOT get – so if you got these please help me understand them a little better (I do appreciate it):
a) The one that mentioned Jonah Bell (or was it Judah Bell?) during the Grocery Witch clip. Who’s he?
b) The one that mentioned Ben Roethlisberger. Who’s he?
c) The one where Kevin says “I’m calling you out!” as the woman walks into the basement again. Where’d he get that from?
5. QUESTIONS? –
a) So did the guests get their 10 grand each or what?
b) So Vincent Price knew his wife was going to kill him so he created this very strange party to figure out who might want to help her? OR did he invite all these people in the hopes that he’d have good witnesses in case his wife & the dr. did get a chance to kill him?
c) So the wife & the doctor tried to “Gaslight” the female employee to get her to think that Vincent was trying to kill everybody and later hopefully she’ll shoot Price?
d) So the Dr. & the wife rigged the bodyless head to appear but didn’t know that the gun the female employee got was filled with blanks?
6. ANYTHING else? – My Mom went with me to this show and she laughed pretty hard when the Grocery short mentioned “Breaded Zucchini” because she had made some a few days before.
Again it was a GREAT show and even though I don’t think there’ll be a Christmas show I will definitely go see them next time.
The Chelsea theater in NYC (23rd St. and 8th Ave.) was about 85% full, about the same as the crowd that showed up for the August “Reefer Madness” showing. While the new shorts were every bit as fun and (in the case of “Paper and I” ) as demented as the ‘grass’ short from the last show, overall, this wasn’t as much fun as the “Reefer Madness” concert to me. Part of the problem is that “House on Haunted Hill” (it was my first time seeing it, ever) is about 10 minutes too long, nothing happens and when it does you can tell it’s not real horror or supernatural stuff happening (I’ve seen enough William Castle flicks to know what to expect by now). I can’t believe that Castle so nakedly ripped-off Clouzot’s “Diabolique” for this cheap “horror” flick, which telegraphed the ending way before it was all over. Too many riffs were only OK and the character abuse on Lance got really annoying when they were ragging on the guy for the movie’s last 15 minutes even though he wasn’t on-screen. Though there were some funny zingers and moments (the blind woman ‘floating’ away from the basement room had the theater roaring with laughter, ‘Vote Christine O’Donnell,’ ‘someone created the internet,’ etc.) and I had a good time I’m sorry to say that this was a step back from the near-perfect experience I had three months earlier with “Reefer Madness.”
No complaints about Paul F. Tompkins, he was in and out without harm and made a virtue of his brief on-camera time. I wish they’d cut in half the number of split-screen “Brady Bunch” riffing shots when the movie/short is playing; I concentrate 100% on the movie screen, so it’s annoying to be distracted by Kevin/Bill/Mike when they’re making faces or mugging for attention.
My first Rifftrax LIVE show, and I absolutely loved it! Sadly, the theater was desolate (there were only 11 people there for the show, including myself), but everyone got into the spirit of things and had a great time!
Now, I gots to go order some Rifftrax DVDs.
#13 Sadly, Andy, I’m closer to the Springs. Have done all the live feeds, usually up in the Lakewood or Littleton areas, but couldn’t travel far today. Half full, huh? I’ll have to try Boulder for the next one. And hey, let’s try and get as many Colorado fans as possible to email Joel and the rest of the CT gang to come do a show here.
A few more things I forgot to mention earlier:
PRE-SHOW stuff? –
a) Best new jokes were the ones featuring Helen Mirren and the Human Centipede
b) They brought the “Gloria Estefan live in concert” video back before the Pre-Show Rifftrax humor came on. I wonder if ALL the theaters that show Rifftrax have this vid in the files as an intro or was it just theaters in Albuquerque, NM?
OTHER funny stuff from Rifftrax crew? –
When Bill walked away and went to the corner.
“I can haz freedom?” riff
WEIRDEST things about this event? –
a) Actually this might be THE creepiest thing but the kid’s relationship to the bag & his parents in “Paper & I.” I actually expected another strange educational short here but I didn’t think his parents actually thought he was mentally unbalanced.
b) The big response from the Nashville crowd when the talking bag mentions “The South produces the most paper products in America” or something like that. Interesting response from Mike too I think he said “I didn’t know that was still in dispute actually” or something like that.
c) Not THAT weird but it was kinda nice to see somebody in the Nashville audience dress up as Brain Guy…:) Anybody else notice people in the audience dress up as anybody else from MST3K?
We had a great time!! Janelle hadn’t been to one of the Rifftrax Live events, and she was laughing even more than me. :) We took turns whistling during the paper bag short… I really wonder WHY they didn’t make any Coily jokes, but maybe it was a bit TOO obvious for them that they opted against it. The trees=Ent reference was great, but I half-expected a The Happening joke as well.
Fantastic show, and (as I stated on the RT forum) I think PFT felt less “wedged in” than some of the prior guests. I am looking forward to the hopeful DVD release!!!
Here in Portland, OR, at the Llyod Center 10 Cinemas, the house was almost packed. The crowd was fairly into it, no clapping or cheering during the intros, but plenty of laughter had by all.
I liked the guest riffer, Paul F. Tompkins. I’m familiar with him from Mr. Show, and a quick IMDB search tells me he was in There Will be Blood (!?). His opening bit about the scary movies and looking in the mirror was great, I could totally relate. I too have a small bathroom, and there is no way a monster is sneaking in behind me without saying, “excuse me.” My girlfriend and I were in an early giggle fit.
The two shorts were the best. That grocery witch can burn on a stake, with her cheap ways, that’s what I say. And that little brown paper bag devil, jeez-my-goodness, what a thing of pure evil. Bravo, gents. This is why I love MST/Rifftrax; they find this crazy stuff and show it too me so I don’t have to get off my keister and find it myself.
I’m familiar with House on Haunted Hill, being a fan of Vincent Price. It was actually a nice surprise that it was colorized. It was like watching it for the first time. Usually I consider colorization to be the work of the devil (paper bag or not) but the process seems to have come a long way since those Three Stooges videotapes I remember from the 90’s.
Who knew Carol Ohmart was in a purple Prince outfit? Now with colorization, we all do.
HoHH is a really stupid movie. I remember liking it more back in the day (by “back in the day” I mean, “back in the ’90’s), but I guess I was more accepting back then. Nothing is explained. What’s up with the old lady floating around on rollerskates? How does Carol Ohmart float outside the window (of the locked house) and make a rope defy physics and snake uphill and around that other lady’s ankles?? Why was there a vat of acid STILL in the basement??? WHY!??!???
Fun, good time, though. Movie kinda dragged toward the end, but overall, I liked it alot. Keep doing the LIVE stuff, fellas.
It’s hard to remember all the good riffs, but yeah, in agreeal with others, the “room buster” riff was definitely the “LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLaaadies” riff by Mike. Just perfect.
I liked the ongoing references to Lance’s clumsiness and proclivity to injure his forehead. Funny stuff.
Also, a big gut buster for me, was when Lance grabs two candlesticks and Bill (I think) says, “That’s two less I have to get for Hanukkah.” I chortled loudly for a couple minutes.
!
#17 Chris Lark:
“a) The one that mentioned Jonah Bell (or was it Judah Bell?) during the Grocery Witch clip. Who’s he?”
Jonah HILL. The chubby kid from Superbad, Cyrus, and Get Him To The Greek.
Agree with Sampo here, this was the smoothest RT Live show yet. I recently watched the original one-riffer version of this with Mike solo and this was miles ahead of that. I even thought the colorization job was well done and subtle. Plusses for no video clips from outsiders and the great Paul F. Tompkins blending well with the group. I highly recommend his standup albums and his monthly podcast “The Pod F. Tompkast.”
Only about a dozen folks in my Daly City, CA theater, but everyone enjoyed it. No technical difficulties this time around. Hopefully the downtown San Francisco theater was better attended.
“Cleanup in aisle 5!”
@21 Chris Lark: I noticed that people in the Nashville audience were dressed up, but not specifically AS Brain Guy. All I remember I saw was a girl with a white face and a dude in a red cape. I assumed it was a costume party along with the LIVE event. Anybody from the Nashville show want to fill us in on this?
I was at the Belcourt, and the place was rock’n! It was a great show, but I’m certainly looking forward to some never before seen riffing.
I know a few guys that could use the product ‘Beard Completor’.
Favorite line: “I’d use a stud finder here but all it would detect is me.”
I’m glad everyone had a wonderful time. I had the misfortune of picking the AMC theater in Neshaminy PA where they lost the satellite feed for what felt like 1/2 an hour. We missed most of the PAPER and I short and about 15 minutes off of the beginning of HOHH. By the time they got everything worked out, you had kinda of fallen out of the enjoyment of the event. They gave everyone who stayed around a free movie pass. Hey Laura, next time I will come and join you at the Regal in Burlington!
In Owings Mills, MD we had maybe 20-25 people total, about the same as “Reefer Madness”.
The biggest laughs came during the “lllllladies” riff, “You’re after me lucky charms”, and the “I saved you all.” riffs.
Good show, I was hoping they would announce the Christmas show (if they’re planning one??) and of course I love the digital goodies.
Absolutely loved it. For the paper short, is it just me, or did the voice sound eeriely like Coily? And, did anyone else think “The Screaming Skull” when Vince was pulling his skeleton out of the acid vat? For anyone at the Burlington Regal 20, I was the loser by myself. The shorts were great and, surprisingly enough, Paul F. Thompkins did’t suck. I was really skeptical when he was announced as a guest riffer, but he actually did a great job.
@DarthServo:
I would love that! It would be nice to not have to go these things by myself for a change. Also, did anyone else lose the sound for about a minute or two before the main feature started?
The show was hysterical, just hysterical. There was a very good turnout in my theater, too. (2/3 to 3/4 full) The only problem…and it’s a big problem…was how poorly handled this presentation was in my theater. We had no sound until right before they started riffing on the first short. The projection booth was automated and unsupervised. It took forever for somebody to find a staffer and for them to fix the problem.
Then at precisely 9:00, during the expository meeting after the “Lllllladies” man leaves the screaming woman alone in her room for the first time, the audio cut out and the theater lights went up. A minute later, the projection turned off completely. People were speculating that it was somehow programmed to turn off on its own, but instead of setting it for 10:00 they set it for 9. Again, we had to wait minutes before someone was found to fix the problem. They DID rewind the movie a few minutes, though. Didn’t even know that was possible. It was no longer a live feed, but at least we got to hear the exposition we missed and the riffs that accompanied them.
I have to say, I would have easily considered this the most fun Rifftrax live to date, but the way my theater botched the presentation threw a huge monkey wrench in the works. This is the third time I attended this in the same theater, and this is the first time they’ve done such a poor job.
But again, funny show. Is this getting an encore or not?
This was my first Rifftrax Live. I thought it was great! Although I did miss the ability to rewind and catch riffs that I miss the first time around, like “I can haz freedom”.
Now, didn’t Mike actually say “Llllllllllllllllllllady?” – singular, not plural, because it was only the one woman in the hallway? As soon as he started saying “Lllll…” I knew what was coming and it was perfect.
Also: “Siditives”.
I loved the show! The movie did drag for the last 10 minutes for me, but that was mostly because I was getting sleepy and I was out past my usual bedtime. I went to the same theater as for “Reefer Madness,” but this time it was much better attended—I would guess at least 2/3, compared to less than 1/4 last time.
I’ve never seen the original HOHH or any other riffed version, so I can’t compare the two. Since this was only my second Rifftrax Live experience, I can’t make much comparison among shows, either. But the audience was lively and very into it, and it was a lot of fun. The “llllllllllladies” riff had everyone roaring, as did the Christine O’Donnell joke, “I can has freedom?” and many others that everyone else has already pointed out. I was a little disappointed that there was no “Spring Fever” callback in the paper short, but I think we already had them in our own minds! I also thought Paul F. Tompkins did a great job, no overkill or overstaying his welcome.
@21, we got the Gloria Estefan footage, too, before the pre-show jokes and songs. What was THAT all about?
My one complaint, which may have to do more with the theater itself and their use of the pre-show “trivia,” is that the pre-show jokes had a shorter cycle. There didn’t seem to be that many of them compared to the “Reefer” show.
Great show last night, Bravo TV had a “100 scariest movie moments” a few years back, HOHH actually made the cut (the creepy old lady who “floats” by the clueless female lead while she knocking on the wall) made less effective here by the riffing and context, I mentioned the fact to my wife and she said “that made the list?” – guess you had to be there c. 1963…love how Rifftrax keeps finding the most bizarre shorts ever! Looking forward to the next one – hoping they release “Reefer Madness” live soon, missed it in the theater.
It was a blast! Better turnout in Hamilton, NJ than for Reefer Madness; theater was a bit over half-full, I’d say. And, after reading some of the comments above, props to the AMC on Sloan Ave for zero technical glitches in the last couple of shows.
And I promise to bread my own zucchini from now on. Can you believe what they charge to stick on those bread crumbs?
It was a great show. Paul F. was tremendous as always. I’ve been quoting his “we all like to be scared” bit for a few weeks now and just knew it was coming up when he started talking last night.
The theater I was in (Wilmington, DE) went nuts during the two Delaware references (Christine O’Donnell and the “But your report was on Delaware” line from the Paper short).
I was just a little disappointed that they didn’t announce the next one on the show last night. But I think they were trying to say though the two DE riffs they they want to come to Delaware. :) Happy to have you, fellas. Try the Grand Opera House.
paul f. tompkins = best rifftrax live guest yet. i’d love to hear a full riff with him sometime in the future. and guys: please check out MR. SHOW if you haven’t already (paul was a writer & performer on it) – it’s one of the best super-low budget cult comedy shows from the 90’s along with mst3k.
i wasn’t wild about HoHH when i heard the mike solo riff, & i’d have to say it was the weakest “feature” riff of the live shows thus far, but the insane shorts more than made up for it. i think i find the main features of these live shows a little underwhelming because the shorts are such a hard act to follow.
i was at the union square theater in NYC – as usual, the place was packed (i guess it’s one of the few consistent rifftrax live sell-outs) & the audience response was great.
overall, an awesome time. i can’t wait for the next one to be announced!
We had a great time! One of my friends was a bit late getting to the theater, and we ended up going in about halfway through the first short. It was packed and we had to sit much closer to the screen than I generally like, but it was still enjoyable. And who knew Des Moines was a hot bed of MST fans? (Hear that, CT?)
Great show as usual; about twice the people as there for Reefer Madness (Columbia, MD). I agree with #37, the shorts are always so great that sometimes, the movie seems kind of draggy. I wonder if they would ever consider doing the shorts after the movie; everyone would leave the theater all
gut-busty. :laugh: Also, I thought P. Tomkins was a good choice. His little monologue was pretty funny, and I thought his riffing was even better than Weird Al.
This was my first Rifftrax Live! and my wife and I loved it! We had a great time. Our theater was about 1/3 full by the time things got started. I really enjoyed seeing the guy’s faces and interactions during the riffing and would love it if they just kept them on the screen the whole time. We laughed hard the entire time at nearly every joke already listed here. We also tried to get our crowd clapping, but no one else seemed interested. We will definitely be attending more of these. We were at the AMC in Edwardsville, IL.
Regarding the “old lady on rollerskates” moment, some folks at the theatre in Kalamazoo that I attended were genuinely scared when she first popped up, so it was kind of fun to have a scare in the middle of all the laughter.
Watched in Fairfax, VA. Theater was 2/3’s full. Enjoyed how the fellas are neutral with the political jokes and will make fun of both parties. The magic disappearing money joke AKA the Stimulus Package and the vote Christine O’Donnell were timely but not mean spirited. I appreciate how they’ve tweaked the show so there isn’t all the extra material from others the way it was in the Plan 9 live show.
Paul F. Tompkins’ comedy style fits perfectly with the other 3 and their interactions seemed very genuine and enjoyable.
Loved the show, the best so far!
My wife and I went to the show in Springfield, MO at College Station theaters. It was about 1/3 full. We had no technical problems, apparently we were lucky. I thought it was just great. This was my first one, now I can’t wait for another show!
To answer one question further up, I saw people (on the screen in Nashville) in the following costumes: Observer (brain guy), Batwoman, and at least one woman in a white nightie that I assume was one of the wives from Manos(!). There were a couple of others that slipped my mind. Good job guys!
Once again I was quite disappointed in the attendance in Ashwabanon, WI. As this is where Joel went to high school (even though he isn’t a part of RiffTrax) I consider this town to be one of the cradles of MST as a result and it blows my mind it isn’t better attended. This theater is the only theater within 20 minutes of the greater Green Bay area carrying the event so it’s not like the town is divided by different locations. Perhaps much in the same way parts of the “South is still fighting the Civil War” maybe because it is Joel’s hometown, greater Green Bay is still fighting the “Flame War.” That said this was the best attendance I’ve seen so far. Maybe there was 30 people. When I walk in and see the poor attendance I aways fret that maybe the theater will say to heck with it and not carry the next event.
Something else constitanty strange about the Green Bay crowd: I’m 37 and consider myself in the prime agegroup to be carry over fan from MST. When I go these live shows I feel like I’m a good 10+ years older than a majority of the attendees. Now this isn’t a bad thing at all. It is good to see “new” fans of movie riffing. This would never last long as a nostalga thing to “old” fans. That said it is surprising.
I’ll echo this was much better than the three riffer version of a yearish ago. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I’ve always said laughter is contageous and see this kind of thing in a theater is a great experience. It is also a “go home again” experience allowing myself to revisit the days when MST was new and current.
As noted above, the Chelsea cinema in Manhattan was pretty full! This was my second favorite of the Rifftrax Live shows so far (it will be hard to match or top the Christmas show!), but it was so close as to make comparisons meaningless.
We had no tech problems with the presentation; the only difference this time was that they didn’t let people into the theater until 7:30, which turned out to be a good thing — we only got a few minutes of ads before the Rifftrax movie trivia began (which a great way to warm up the crowd). And NO Gloria Estafan for us, thank Coily!
The show itself? No complaints from me, only gales of laughter. HOHH was much MUCH improved from the original 3-riffer version, with more & funnier riffs coming much faster and tighter this time. The paper short was a little long, but not so much as to seriously drag. Paul F. Tomkins was a much better guest than the chronically unfunny Weird Al — he fit in much better and took a more active part in the proceedings.
And yes to both of those posters above who noted 2 great missed opportunities — no Coily shoutout (I mean, really!) and no riffing on Elisah Cook’s career.
All in all, a great great time.
My friend James and I had a great time as always when it comes to
Rifftrax Live. Our theater was less than half full but everyone was
having a blast and laughing alot.
The two shorts were really bizzare and thus hilarious. I loved the balance in the witch and the grocery store short with Kevin doing a riff on the Stimuls Package early on and then Bill with the riff “Vote for Christine ODonnell” at the end. I was expecting a riff on her. If you going to make political riffs, poking fun at both sides is what I like to see. I’m a conservative guy and I laughed as hard at the ODonnell riff just as much as the Stimulus one. Kevin’s “Uncle Ben’s gonna have to cut a witch!”
was pure gold too.
Paul was alot of fun, I liked his routine about the monster in the mirror in horror movies, and he did a good job riffing on the Paper Bag short. I especially loved his “And now we will march on Saurman!” riff. I also agree that the skit during the movie where Mike and Bill replace Kevin with Paul was very funny.
The riffing on the movie was great, they put out alot of good riffs that had me laughing hard. I loved how they made fun of the Doctor, not moving his arms much and him saying “Siditive” instead of Sedative. I loved the callback to the Paper short too.
Another A+ effort from Rifftrax. I can’t wait for the next Live show!
A few more things I forgot to mention last night – oh and thanks for anybody who replied to my posts:
1) NO tech problems – thanks goodness;)
2) Anybody notice this? – one of the Rifftones songs pre-show was like a Punk version of a tune called “Diver Dan.” Pardon me but didn’t Frank Conniff spoof this song for his “Cartoon Dump” stage show? (I think he called it “Dumpster Dan”?)
3) For Anybody@Rifftrax – will there by any DVD’s of the live riffing shows for “Reefer Madness” and “House On Haunted Hill”? ALSO will the “Grass” short from Reefer & the “Paper & I” from HoHH be available as seperate downloadable clips (like they did for the other 2 shorts) too? Finally FWIW thanks SO much for the 20% off coupon at http://www.rifftrax.com/haunted
Again it was a GREAT show and even if they don’t do a Christmas show I’ll gladly see them next year.
Loads of fun. On the whole I think I liked the Christmas show better — I love the obscure, “Where do they FIND this stuff?” material.
And I’m not on the “YOU CAN’T RIFF GOOD MOVIES!” train, but I DO think House on Haunted Hill “suffers” a bit for being better than most of the movies they do — it’s certainly ripe for mockery, but it’s not a dog, either. On the whole the shorts were better.
I too was surprised and disappointed that there were no Maltese Falcon references using Elisha Cook Jr. They missed an opportunity to do a Sidney Greenstreet impression.
Somebody in Nashville was wearing a tee-shirt that read “Your weapons are useless against me.”
Favorite riffs were all the ones involving Vincent Price’s party prep: crockpot meatball, “well, gotta go frost the cupcakes”, and the one that absolutely put me on the floor: “honey, where do we keep the pork rinds?”
Just remembered another line that made me laugh again. During the paper short when the newspapers and stand dissapeared Mike says “Oh no! Someone invented the internet!” That was clever and true.