That reminded me of a suggestion I got a few weeks ago from alert reader Christian:
It might be interesting to discuss gay riffs.
As an example, in “Hired! Part II”, the dude says, “I remember one of the first things that Harry drilled into me…” and Crow riffs, “was Harry”.
Or, many times when a male character says something to another male character that can be misconstrued as homoerotic, the riff will be a provocative sounding, “Say!”
As an example of that, I always crack up at the pasty old Mole Men leering at the newcomers and Crow murmuring “Say…hmmm…”
What’s your pick?
One more thing: I expect a spirit of tolerance in this thread. The attitude BBI has is that gay sex — like ALL sex — is hilarious. Which is certainly true. That’s pretty much the tone I expect here. Irreverence is fine, intolerance is not. If you disapprove of gayness, you have a right to your opinion, but please keep it to yourself. We’re not discussing gayness, we’re discussing the jokes BBI has made over the years about it. Thank you.
) to help our users cope with "trolls" and other commenters whom they find annoying. Go to our
In Giant Gila Monster when Joel says as the main guy (what’s his name) talking to the sheriff: “Gosh, the moonlight does crazy things to your hair – sir.”
Or in Undersea Kingdom (the one from Attack of the Giant Leeches), Joel says in a femmy voice: “Get him, girls, he hit Buddy!”
Or in Undersea Kingdom (the one from Attack of the Giant Leeches), Joel says in a femmy voice: “Get him, girls, he hit Buddy!”
That one is also a reference to the movie Blazing Saddles, so it really belongs to Mel Brooks, or whoever came up with that line.
I nominate the incredibly flamboyant Devil character “Red” from the short “Out of This World,” before the episode “High School Big Shot.”
Remember…he was trying to tempt hardworking straight-arrow bread salesman Bill Dudley to kick back and take it easy, while his Mamie Eisenhower-like angelic counterpart “Whitey” was trying to insure Dudley kept his nose to the grindstone.
We’re the Special Unit! Halloooo?
“Girl In Gold Boots”
Critter – If did that, then you’d realize I’m no threat to your love life.”
Servo – I’m G-A-Y, get it!
@148 – “They’re doing it clown style!”
Oh I think there’s more to it then just that alone!
@137- As a gay man (and a regular poster here though I’m not saying who), the opinion you express has always puzzled me. I’m not attracted to women sexually at all but I can look at a woman and appreciate her beauty. For some odd reason, straight men cannot look at another man and admit, “He’s handsome” or “He’s in good shape” without feeling weird about it. The male body is not ugly. I wouldn’t call how you feel “homophobic” but there is a tinge of “gay fear”. All my straight guy friends can look at a handsome, well-built man and at least be able to comprehend that he’s handsome and well-built. It’s the ones who refuse to admit they can comprehend when a man is handsome and in good shape that I wonder about.
“Tim’s a real strong blip on the GAYdar.”
Charles (#145) said what I wanted to (but probably wouldn’t have put so well). I think the reason that few, if any, take offense at ANY of the jokes in MST3K is they were made at the expense of the filmmakers and not with any agenda; political, sexual, religious or otherwise.
(And, sorry, nothing to contribute to this thread other than that observation — I’m just chuckling over all those have mentioned. By far my favorite is Mr. B Natural, whose sexuality or even identity is so confusing that almost anything said about him/her/it is funny. Was that EVER shown in schools?).
I’m not gay but I’m Swedish, and from that perspective I’d say that men being disgusted by seeing naked men is a cultural, rather than natural phenomenon. My country is somewhat famous for having a more relaxed attitude towards nudity, and I’ve read interviews with Swedish hockey players who, when they started to play in NHL, were puzzled by the reactions they got when they didn’t cover themselves up in the locker room. Historically, there are many, many examples of cultures who have seen the male body as the ideal. Americans just happen to be a bit weird about these things. Nothing wrong with that, all cultures have their quirks. You don’t like male nudity, we don’t like social interaction.
And by the way, one of the first things that Harry drilled into me… was Harry.
#162: Now that’s something…I’ve always greatly admired Swedish culture, and now I know why. Not only do I not mind male nudity…I’m also not very fond of social interaction! Tak!
Damn crazy Sweed! You stole my line! That Hired! short is rife with those.
Brain guy was soooo omnisexual. When he dressed in that leather outfit I lost it.
…not to mention the “terrible, aching crush” I’ve always had on Benny Andersson!
Corman @137: Amen. There is a normal ‘gross-out’ reaction that males are going to get when the filmmakers put male parts on the screen like we are supposed to be turned on. Thankfully in most MST movies it’s done so badly, it is humorous, which results in creativity. Sing the praises of pants!
My fave:
“I feel a stirring in my little clonus” and many more from Clonus, esp. revolving around skinny Batch Man, who must be sleeping with the director or his nephew.
Beginning of Puma man. It’s S&M day at the museum.
From Mitchell in an early exchange between Mitchell and his boss : “Was it our brief but bitter affair?”
More detective action from The Indestructible Man:
“You wanted me sir?”
“For years”
I think there’s too much being read into the MST3K reaction to men without pants.
To be fair, the folks at MST3K have admired the rear end of Claude Akins.
#163: “Let The Right One In” and those awesome meatballs are reason enough to love Sweden.
Being from Minnesota, where Sweden is alive and well, I can say that it’s not only lack of social interaction, but lots and lots of personal space.
Maybe that’s why male nudity goes over well; you’re 50 yards away from the closest naked body.
#169, Don’t forget the serial shirtlessness. Funny thing is, I think it’s more an objection to an actor constantly undressing rather than a guy exposing his bare chest. I, too, had objections to Tim in Boggy Creek II and his constant T-shirt removal. It’d be better just to not have it in the scene at all. It didn’t help that he was a decidedly unnoteworthy physical specimen. But even then, to suggest that it was fan service might be reading too much into it, which is the inadvertent subtext I mentioned before.
How long did you watch the initial pool scene in Clonus before you realized the young guy was Richard Knight’s son and not his gay houseboy?
I loved the line in Pumaman contemplating a personal ad that Tony would take out looking to connect romantically with Vadinho. “Saw you in lab. You took bone. I chased you.”
I think a Soultaker riff, when the Soultaker (disguised as Natalie’s Mom) unabashedly ogled Natalie, went a bit too far:
Mike: “Is there even a name for Mom’s little sickness?”
Tom: “Lilith-Fairism.”
Lilith Fair isn’t even exclusively lesbian, so applying its name to a female/female “couple” in the first place was hit or miss at best. Applying it to implied mother/daughter incest struck me as very out of line.
Almost forgot from “This Island Earth:” Heil HIT-ler!
#30: “I did sense a little bit of homophobia on occasion in the show, though. The loud objections whenever any male skin is displayed come across to me as ‘I’d better act repulsed or else people will think I’m gay.'”
Yeah, that bug me, too… There’s a scene in Clonus, when the guy’s son gets out of the pool, and they all freak out about seeing in in a Speedo-type thing. It’s like, oh for the love of Brain Guy, we’re NOT gonna think you’re gay if you just let it pass, guys… Criminy.
And it bugs me not just as a supporter of gay rights, but as a woman. I have to see scantily clad woman all over the damn place in media, but you guys freak out freak out over the occasional Speedo scene? Pardon me if I’m not terribly sympathetic about your gay panic…
/Hey, where did this soap box come from?
“Devil Fish”, as Peter is running in slow motion from the ocean onto the beach: “Now it’s 10 as written by Terence McNally!”
“The She-Creature”: The scene where business guy (forget the characters name) is kicking Lombardi out of his house, and Crow says “This is the prequel to ‘Jeffery’ (sp?)”.
And one more from Rifftrax, “Giant of Marathon”: When Steve Reeves has his wrestling opponent in some kind of headlock/half-nelson, with Steve’s position prone to the guy’s back, and he is forcing the guy down to the ground, Mike says: “That’s it, ease into it; there!”. Wow.
For my two cents, I would say that BB weren’t laughing AT gays or lesbians, they were laughing at the (many times unsuccessful) attempts at overblown machismo that seems to appear in the many all-male scenes that dominated older films:
onto the quotes:
“It’s a Gore Vidal FANTASY!” from Hercules
“Oh SOMEONE’S a bitch and it’s not me and it’s not Joe!” from Racket Girls
and of course they didn’t even need to meet halfway “Good? He’s the BEST!” from Pod People
#174: Did you feel the same way about their objections to the saggy crotch shots in Prince of Space?
I just thought the Clonus one was lazy camera work where the guy approaches the camera and we get to see his saggy Speedo clasping his dong in a way that wasn’t exactly appealing or intended. It’s similar to the underpants guy in Zombie Nightmare.
Of course, their initial reaction to Ricky in Clonus was a bit more egregious, but then it was a sudden presentation of a nearly nude, not terribly attractive man. If that’s a male cheesecake shot, it’s a bad one.
In addition to Claude Akins, the Brains have also said, “Rowsdower has one of screendom’s best rear-ends.”
All the talk about CLONUS in the last few posts reminded me of another one.
“Guys, this is supposed to be the 50 yard dash!”.
Thank you for offering useful articles on many people.
From Clonus, during the clone games someone quips “Terrence McNally holds weird auditions”.
#HopOnPopTheMovie
Also, I can’t remember any exact riffs or experiments, but there were a few Joe Orton references sprinkled in over the years, especially concerning filthy bathrooms.
And as I’m typing this while listening to streaming Projected Man, I just heard another (paraphrasing):
Professor: There’s something you may not know about me.
Mike: I’m a shemale”
I’m surprised no one mentioned one of my favorites from Manhunt in Space: when Bobby leaves Professor Newton to go get ready for the trip, Crow imitates Newton’s voice and says, “Not a word of our meetings, Bobby!”
Actually, reading other comments, I just had another thought: when I was younger, I actually thought Joel WAS gay because his gay riffs sounded like something a gay man would say. Then after I found out he was married later I became very inconsolable for a while. I’d still like to go out on a platonic date with Joel.
Now this is one of the reasons I love MST3K and — for the most part — the fandom: almost any other board on a topic of this type would have devolved into childishness or thinly-veiled bigotry long ago. As yet another gay Mistie, I feel compelled to give kudos to the posters so far.
With regard to the ‘grossed out’ reaction to seeing male kibbles ‘n bits on screen, I’m of two minds. Often when that reaction was given in a riff, I felt it was more-or-less justified. The male specimens on display were rarely much to look at, at least by contemporary standards, and the way their bodies were presented could easily leave one feeling a bit skeeved out, regardless of sexual orientation. I’m thinking in particular of the endless shots of an oily, barrel-chested Steve Reeves or faux-Steve Reeves in the Hercules series. On the other hand, I agree with those who’ve said that heterosexual men should just get over it. My perspective is this: show me Roseanne Barr naked? Thanks, but no thanks. Show me Angelina Jolie nude? Don’t need to see it and won’t be turned on by it, but I can appreciate the fact that she’s a beautiful woman who’s got a bangin’ body. See? Easy as that. Can’t straight guys just take the same approach?
And now to the subject at hand: all of the riffs previously mentioned are great, but some of my favorites are…
* In Santa Claus, when the postal worker is sorting all the mail destined for the North Pole (or “way up in the heavens, just above the North Pole,” anyway), he mutters, “Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus…” and Mike mutters, barely perceptibly, “Tom of Finland.”
* In Young Man’s Fancy, when mom is reading the letter from Bob (paraphrasing):
Trace’s delivery on that little throwaway line makes me crack up every time.
* From Racket Girls, when the slimy boss, Mr. Scalli, is being obnoxious and Crow riffs, “Ooooh, someone’s a bitch and it’s not me and it’s not Joe!” Reminds me of so many people I know, which is probably why it makes me laugh.
“Can’t straight guys just take the same approach?”
Approach? You’re implying that we have a choice about it. That’s like biting into an un-thawed tater tot and saying “I’ll just think of it as a frozen treat.” instead of reflexively spitting it out. It’s just nature. There’s really no way of rationalizing it.
#146 WinterWarlock:
I forgot about the sock drawer bit.Which I use alot. Guess it’s like breathin’…
And #18 HeatUpTheDeathRay:
I’m a straight woman who agrees. Ugly is ugly, regardless of orientation. Same as pretty.
But do any of you think that the reason that some of those actors and actresses got so much screen time in what the director thought was sexy poses or situations was because the director was sleeping with or hoping to sleep with him/her at the time or thought all the, ah, exposure would make them stars? Can I stress the word “thought” enough here?
#162: I just gotta love the line, “I’m not gay but I’m Swedish.”
There has to be a good use for that in general conversation somewhere. Hee hee hee! :)
From “She Creature,” when business guy and Lombardi are quarrelling over Lombardi staying at the house — “It’s OVER, Carl.”
From “Mole People,” when the guards are running after the explorers, and jumping over their fallen brethren: “Don’t look at my butt! Don’t look at my butt!”
“Mole People” is rich with gay riffs.
Oh, how about “Phantom Planet”? Sesom: “And that’s why I’m dressed like Quentin Crisp.”
Definitely, Diabolik.
Ginko: Look sophisticated.
Crow: Sophisticated! Not GAY!
The attacks on Tommy Kirk in Village of the Giants
Tommy: You’re so good to me, Nancy…
Mike: …but I’m afraid I’m going to have to fire you. Budget cuts.
Then, how could we forget: “Oh, I’d hate to shoot a butt like that!” in the Commando Cody shorts?
I have to mention the Rip Taylor trio from Attack of the Eye Creatures. Hilarious and affectionate – “kiss me!”.
Fathermushroom @189:
Your post reminded me when in “Mole People”, we see the Sumerian soldiers, someone cracks about them looking like “gay wrestling cheerleaders”…and your example from “Phantom Planet” reminded me that, in various episodes featuring a talky scene between two male characters whose faces are close to each other, someone (usually Crow) would say in exasperation “Why don’t you just kiss him instead of talking him to death?”
Off topic, but by the way: Saw another offering on-demand under the “Something Weird” category, “She-Devils on Wheels”, a biker flick about a female gang called the Maneaters, and produced around the same time as “Sidehackers”, “Wild Rebels” and “Hellcats”- but this movie makes the ones MSTed look like “Die Hard” or something. Check it out for some laughs- as TV’s Frank would say, “It is out there!”
@30 As a gay man, I agree with your assesment of the gay jokes, most were fine, but there were a few times I thought that they went too far.
Most of my faves were taken, of those not used, I’ll go with Revenge of the Creature. “The guy keeps thin gay Nazis around.” I was thinking the exact same thing.
If I may, from The Film Crew’s Hollywood After Dark there are the two gangsters and one makes the other laugh and Mike says, “Oh, I’m glad you’re my life partner!”
And CT, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Voldar and the polar bear, they say of Voldar, “Ususally he is considered the bear in the relationship.”
Also, kudos to posters for keeping the spirit that Sampo encouraged.
I don’t know if these have been mentioned yet (lots to read and I want to contribute)
In Hercules (EP 502) where there are multitudes of young men exercising, Tom replies “It’s a Gore Vidal fantasy”
In Rifftrax’s Planet of Dinosaurs, there is a close up of Chuck’s bare chest, which Mike replies “Tom of Finland presents Planet of Dinosaurs”
The little John Waters joke in Space Mutiny, when a spaceship crew member who looks like John Waters finishes a telecom call. “Bitch.”
You all realize that Kevin Murphy is gay, right? That seemed to be made clear at one of the recent Rifftrax Live events.
The ‘first thing Harry drilled into me’ riff from the “Hired! Part 2” short… when it’s coming and I remember it’s coming up I laugh. 8-) When I watch “Manos” brain-dead and it catches me off-guard (the ‘was Harry’ riff really comes out of nowhere and delivered so smoothly and well-timed by Trace) and it, along with Tom and Joel’s reactions, makes me laugh. Thinking about it right now it’s making me laugh already. Runner-up: the ‘Oscar Wilde’ remark on the “B. Natural” short.
Re # 196
Kevin Murphy is married and has been for years to Jane Murphy.
Some of my favorites were: When Frank Chapman is out for his morning swagger, he stops and looks intently through one of the doorways and Tom says “Oh, yeah! Take it off! Oh, sorry, sir.” Another was Crow as Troy in Final Sacrifice: “My Rowsdower’s come for me!”
In Squirm, the nerdy protagonist is targeted with several gay jokes, “Frolic, skip, prance cavort.” “She’s a nice girl. If I were just a little straighter…”
In The Projected Man, the jokes on the financier keeping security guards around.
Sometimes, short and sweet is best. For me, it’s the “Hm, hm, hmm… Say!” when that guy looks askance at Calgan at the start of Space Mutiny.
And yeah, Castle Monster pretty much nailed it. A naked man is just as unappealing to a straight man as a naked woman is to a gay man. It’s the normal and customary reaction that one can reasonably expect from a straight guy and shouldn’t be confused with homophobia. Really, just because some people fail to prostrate themselves in adoration of your lifestyle choice doesn’t mean they hate you.