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RiffTrax Live: What Did You Think?An open thread to discuss tonight’s RiffTrax Live show.
44 Replies to “RiffTrax Live: What Did You Think?”Commenting at Satellite News
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This was top tier. Absolutely hilarious. Where do I download Kevin’s song?
Fantastic! Got to see it at the renovated Cinemark Tinseltown in Rochester, New York. The seats reclined!
So glad the DVD/VOD is on the way… would that count as a black gift?
Maybe four-fifth full here at Celebration Cinema in south Lansing. Magnificent show; my love described it, correctly, as one of the most incompetent movies we’ve seen in the Rifftrax Live shows. I admire how Samurai Cop managed, at every turn, to make the oddest choice wherever around the margins it could fit something in. There’s so many peculiar acting choices, so many peculiar set choices, so many weird lines given weird readings. It’s magnificent.
I loved the short and appreciated the way it was animated as, I’m guessing, a paper-doll marionette. It looked surprisingly good.
We played the Star Trek pinball after the show until I got the Vengeance Multiball and one airball went over the ramp and got stuck in the plastic. We turned off the machine. We also turned off the arcade’s basketball game thing as it was beeping angrily and showing some error message about Optics.
It was one of their best..lots of funny riffs and loved the short,too..We were laughing at the reaction shots of the actors or just when the camera was on them..Hope to get this on dvd..Well done Rifftrax!
Unfortunately, not even 1/2 full at Fallen Timbers in Maumee, Ohio. Like many of their live shows, the jokes took a little time to build up steam, but oh man, did it work. As a Lutheran who skipped her church’s Maundy Thursday service to see this, the Episcopalian/Lutheran joke nearly killed me laughing.
Also, I’m pretty sure the “love” (urk!) scenes in this movie were even more nauseating than those in “The Room.” Though maybe I’m just used to the Room because I’ve seen it so often.
Unfortunately, not even 1/2 full at Fallen Timbers in Maumee, Ohio. Like many of their live shows, the jokes took a little time to build up steam, but oh man, did it work. As a Lutheran who skipped her church’s Maundy Thursday service to see this, the Episcopalian/Lutheran joke nearly killed me laughing.
Also, I’m pretty sure the “love” (urk!) scenes in this movie were even more nauseating than those in “The Room.” Though maybe I’m just used to the Room because I’ve seen it so often.
“I love those motherf!@#ers!” Most people I’ve seen at a Rifftrax Live since “Starship Troopers”, and maybe the hardest I’ve laughed since that one (and I’ve already seen the “Samurai Cop” VOD). It was certainly interesting to watch the new MST3K “Reptilicus” and then this soon after. Mike, Bill and Kevin sound like laid-back old pros while the new MST gang seem to be…I don’t know, trying too hard. Oh, and I was afraid Rifftrax were going to tear “The Five Doctors” apart, but after seeing their snapshots of their trip to the UK, it’s obvious they have a lot of affection for “Doctor Who”.
I went to see Samurai Cop at my usual theater in Bowie, MD (although I may start changing theaters after learning that Rifftrax Live has finally started appearing at a more accessible theater in Waldorf, MD), with around 20-30 people in attendance.
Presentation wise, this is definitely the perfect start to what’s going to be a busy weekend of MST3K goodness, as Samurai Cop is one of those films that you just have to see to believe when it comes to how bad it could get (whether it’s poor camera shots, ridiculous gore, a mistimed music cue, or the sight of the title character’s package).
Most memorable joke: The comment about how the police chief used to work at guest relations at United Airlines.
Saw it, as usual, at the Regal Commerce Center on Rt. 1 in North Brunswick, NJ. There wren’t too many people there, but they all really enjoyed the show.
There was a nervous moment when 7:30 arrived and the screen was still blank. I checked with the manager, who said he’d look into it. A couple of minutes later, we got the pre-show. Nice bit of good customer service, I thought.
The pre-show cards were great, as was the music, especially the lounge version of “Welcome to the Jungle”. Among the Fathom previews was their upcoming showing of the Season 10 premiere of “Doctor Who”, where the new Companion says she loves her adventures with the Doctor, even if they kill her. (Lady, based on your predecessors in the revived show, you might just get your wish.)
The short, “Manners in School” was one of their best efforts. From the obviously psychotic kid to the creepy chalk drawing with the Clutch Cargo mouth, it was hilarious. Following that, the photos from the London & Wales trip were nice, and the showing of the Relaunch trailer was a classy move.
As for “Are You Being Serv-“, I mean, “Samurai Cop”, the riffing was great. But the movie was one of the worst flicks I’ve ever seen. Crude, violent, ineptly made and confusing, I just ended up with my face in my palm, grunting in disgust like Norman. The closing song with Kevin was a great capper.
A very good effort from RT. Oh, but any of you thinking of going to the repeat, be advised that this one is rated R. (It’s shown on the Fathom page, but you might miss it.) I know there were some kids in the Regal Commerce audience, and I suspect the parents might not have been expecting the harsher material.
Hey @EmSpeaks, nice to meet a fellow Northwest Ohioan/MSTie! I was at the Franklin Park 16 Cinema in Sylvania/Toledo. About half full, I’d say.
My GOD, was this an hysterical riff! I hadn’t seen Samurai Cop before, and boy am I glad I waited to see it like this! Absolutely hysterical riffing (have I mentioned that?), a mind boggling movie, yet another short about an inanimate object (in this case, chalk dust?) coming to life to lecture some ignorant human sap (BOY was that kid a little snot!), and a wonderful night all around. Kickstarter money well spent. I can’t wait to get my Blu-ray of this one!
On a side note, it sure was a nice gesture of the guys to show the trailer for tomorrow’s MST3K relaunch and hype up the show’s return. I must admit, I’ve been a tad nervous that certain fans might see these two riffing projects as competitors, rather than as two different (and hilarious) takes on the comedy style that can BOTH be enjoyed. I’m glad to continue to see Rifftrax’s support of the new MST3K season, and I hope this and future signs of support work to prevent factions from developing. We MSTies have to stick together. :)
On to the Summer Shorts Beach Party, and new episodes of MST3K tomorrow, of course!
The semi-reliable Regal Hamburg Pavilion here in Lexington, KY had a pretty decent turnout. Numerous people in Rifftrax/MST3K-related shirts, too (should’ve remembered my backer shirt…). Only had a problem at the start when they had no audio until a few minutes into the opening banter. Fortunately, that was fixed before the short.
Samurai Cop was a delightfully stupid movie. Awful lot of raw gunplay for a cop who’s supposed to be a samurai, so I’m just accepting the riffers’ second interpretation of the title. The riffing took some time to build up, but the callbacks just kept stacking up as it went along, and it kept getting better and better. Great show!
Chalky the chalk sprite was another good short, too. Not quite up to the quality of Paper And I, but still good. All in all, fun times in RiffTrax land tonight.
Drove an hour and arrived at theater we usually see Rifftrax Live at, only to find out they were not showing SAMURAI COP for some reason (they didn’t show the MST3K reunion either but at least we checked that in advance). Frustrating. We went to see KONG: SKULL ISLAND instead, were the only ones in the theater, and riffed it ourselves.
My wife and I went to our usual theater, which was half full. I wore my Castleton t-shirt, which some guy noticed on the way out (“You Castleton snob!”)
The movie was a little sluggish at first, but when it got going, it was right up there with Rifftrax’s best. This may be right up there with Manos as far as sheer cinematic ineptitude goes (Um, you might want to have your actor wipe the coke off of his nose before the scene, guys.) The guys were their usual stellar selves, and while I’m sure the new MST will be fine, I still consider Mike, Kevin, and Bill to be true carriers of the flame. Long may they run and hopefully those Utz Cheese Puffs will turn up again soon.
“From National Public Radio, this is Fresh Air. I’m Terry Gross…”
It could’ve been a lot worse–for the Rifftrax Live they cut out Robert Z’Dar’s sex scene. Not even kidding.
Also, it only occurred to me this time around that the Costa Rican waiter is supposed to be this movie’s version of Serge from Beverly Hills Cop.
Hey @Emspeak and @Danzilla, Go NW Ohio! I saw SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY at Fallen Timbers about a year and a half ago! Saw the show tonight at the Century City 15 Theater in Los Angeles. It’s a change of venue for Rifftrax— good for me (a lot closer) and not so great for the crowd, which was pretty sparse. I’m assuming the LA folks either assumed it was at the Regal Theaters downtown as theyv’e been for the past three years or they all went to Burbank to meet the film’s actual cast. Big, big laughs— somehow the riffs worked better live than they did on the studio verison. So much Z’Dar! So much Chin!
Just around forty of us in Warwick, RI at the Showcase, which is about right for your average RT outing.
Special note for early attendees – the Gloria Estefan showreel has been shortened to her intro number. You WILL have Get On Your Feet stuck in your head hours after you leave!
Cards were fabulous – related too well to the one lamenting the end of practical media, and the Warner Herzog one got a good laugh from my fellow attendees.
The travails Kevin, Mike and Bill went through to bring us this particular was completely worth it (their plane was stuck by lightening AND Bill fell down the stairs of their rented house apparently!); the short was delightfully demonic and reminded me of A Case of Spring Fever and Samurai Cop is so gut bustingly funny that the audience was laughing at the movie itself alongside the riffing. A really solid outing, and I encourage folks to buy this one on VOD when it’s released!
There was a better crowd in this theater than the last couple of times I attended a screening there.
There were some issues involving the presentation- we didn’t get the cards, and they accidentally started it too early (there’s a two or three minute stretch we never did see with the sound on).
The actual presentation was great- as noted above, quite a few moments where the film being itself was enough to get us all laughing, and it felt like they were able to get a good hunk of material out of this.
Indeed, the MST3K trailer was a nice gesture.
Overall, a fine show, and one I’ll be glad to watch again and again when the VOD comes up.
Oh my, one of the funniest RT Live outings in a while! It had the effortless feel that marks the guys’ best work, and some of the laughs were gut-busting! It takes talent and timing to make a fall-down-laughing line out of yelling, “I love those mother****ers!” But even Kevin had to blanch at one point at the fusillade of F-bombs roaring from the screen!
Much, much better than the studio version (as usual, but the difference isn’t always this stark).
It was at the usual theater on Broadway & 13th Street in Manhattan, but they moved the showing to a smaller theater than usual, which insured a full house. The laughter started during the short and didn’t end until the new song played us out of the theater.
A very fine evening. What a week for MSTies!
Great show! There were only about a dozen people at the AMC Orange Park 24, but we got an unexpected treat. Mark Frazer, a.k.a. Frank Washington, was IN THE AUDIENCE! We actually got to meet with him after the show, and he was really nice. I’m sure he had mixed feelings about being riffed, but he was a good sport about it, and I could even see him laughing out loud at times during the movie. Overall, I thought he did a decent job of acting (definitely better than the samurai guy).
As for the overall show, I was pleasantly surprised. If you didn’t see it and are thinking about going to the encore, keep in mind there’s some swearing (even from MKB), a certain level of violence (one guy gets his arm chopped off in a scene that’s mercifully brief and too ridiculous to be terribly upsetting), and some extended shots of a woman in a thong bikini. But it looks like they cut out the worst parts. I have the original VOD, and I was really concerned about a scene where a woman gets tortured. I was planning a bathroom break for that scene, and even timed it out to make sure I missed all of it. But thankfully it was gone for this show. They’d said they were going to cut out some nudity but I didn’t know they also cut that scene out, and I’m very grateful for it. What was left was hilariously bad and made for good riffing. Loved it!
My theater wasn’t very full in Des Moines, but after 7 years at a theater in the more populous western suburbs, they moved it to a new theater in the eastern suburbs. It’s closer for me, but I worry it will prevent some fans from attending. There are people in West Des Moines who avoid going as far as downtown.
Riffing was great, plus it was cool seeing the MST3K preview on the big screen.
We laughed so hard at this one. Rifftrax, I love you mf-ers. I watched the studio riff of Samurai Cop on Amazon video accidentally right before they announced the live show, but the live version was GREAT, didn’t feel the same and I like it a lot better. I’m definitely buying the live version. Kevin’s song at the end was classic. The movie itself is so odd and incompetent. I cannot believe the reaction shots. Or the cop with the…um, stuff under his nose.
We had about a 1/2-3/4s full crowd in Burlington, VT. The crowd was laughing the whole time. It was surprising but fun to have a R rated Rifftrax.
Hilarious show, one of the best! The perfect combination of riffing, and a movie that’s hilariously inept and entertaining on its own.
Now, I’m very disappointed to hear the movie was edited. If it’s for time, then ditch the short, or tighten the show up elsewhere. If it’s for content, well, the movie is already very deserving of its R-rating due to frequent cussing and bloody violence. One of the reasons I prefer RT to MST3K is that RT has more of an edge. Don’t be pussies!
I also noticed they cut out Yama****a’s torture of the cop with hot oil, and that was a wise move. Besides, the live shows are more like family shows compared to VODs. Can you imagine if they tried to show “Wonder Women” live, especially the first two minutes (and whenever Ross Hagen appears)? Great show, and Kevin should have the Samurai Cop theme available.
Loved it. One of the best.
Saw this at the Webster in Chicago. I was unfortunately seated near a woman who thought she was as much a part of the show as Kevin, Mike & Bill, but I was able to tune her out for the most part.
Had a theater about half full in my area, though groups both in front and behind my nearly-empty row really got into it as they channeled the laughter to keep everyone falling out of their seats.
“Aww, I love those motherf**kers definitely got the biggest laugh of the night.”
Plenty of good pre-show slides to add to the TVTropes page too once I get the time.
Attendance at the Virginia Center 20 was lighter than usual. I’d say 30-40% full.
Agree that Utz Cheese Balls are the best, especially the ones with the Bay Crab Seasoning mixed in.
There actually was a film version of Are You Being Served?, which was released in 1977. While it’s not held in the highest regard, its intentional comedy designation would make it ill-suited for riffing.
Hard to believe it was made in the Nineties, since it has such an Eighties vibe.
I could have sworn that the redhead henchwoman was Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander on Babylon 5). But according to IMDB, it’s not her.
Was it just me, or were all the black thugs they encountered shot by Washington? Probably wanted to avoid certain unfortunate implications.
When Washington stops Marshall from killing Yama****a, did anyone else think of the similar scene from near the end of Cave Dwellers?
@ #11: I think you meant Chalky the Chalk Cherub.
@ #12: That’s why I always buy my Rifftrax Live tickets in advance.
That movie was awful! May be worse than Birdemic. Sure glad my girlfriend didn’t go or she would never forgive me. The Riffing was great as always but there were a lot of jaw-dropping scenes which needed no commentary to make them absurdly funny. Oh, and our screen went blank five mi unites before start time, and wasn’t fixed until partly into Chalky.
This was my first RiffTrax show and it was great. Samurai Cop falls into the so bad it’s good category it hardly needed commentary to make it funny. The short was also great as was the music/did you know comments in the intro. The theater was 2/3 full in Westbury NY and gave it a good reception. All in all the start of a perfect weekend.
Clifton, NJ : Theater was only about half full. That there are 3-4 Rifftrax Live shows a year now plus the new MST3K is probably the reason. Ironically, this was one of the best shows. “Whom the gods destroyed, they first made Samurai Cop!” Like The Room, it’s hard to figure where the part that was intentionally schlocky ended and the part that was unintentionally schlocky began…The funniest part was the idiotic locations. The Cop’s house looks like his grandparents place. The “drug lord” lived ( and yes, loved) in what appeared to be a one bedroom apartment, with children’s drawings on the fridge, nick nacks and Pier One furnishings. The “Estate” had an all dirt lawn, as if someone had dropped a MOAB filled with Roundup. The short was also quite deranged, but hilarious. Looking forward to the next one with Trace & Frank. #cheeseballs
“Now, I’m very disappointed to hear the movie was edited. If it’s for time, then ditch the short, or tighten the show up elsewhere. If it’s for content, well, the movie is already very deserving of its R-rating due to frequent cussing and bloody violence. One of the reasons I prefer RT to MST3K is that RT has more of an edge. Don’t be pussies!”
I couldn’t agree more with this…….come on Mike, Kevin and Bill, use your pull/authority at Rifftrax to give us ONLY unexpurgated movies in the future. A set, two hour window for MST3K on cable back in the day, as well as the broadcast ‘standards’ that had to be abided by was certainly understandable then, but those restrictions are now (more or less) completely gone. If you’re going to ‘do’ a movie, please do it right (Just be sure to make it clear up-front, that there is potentially objectionable material in the film in question)….
Tremendous! Loved it all
thought it was a great show but was very sad that they cut out 3 or four scenes of nudity
As usual I had to miss this one. I hope they can release it on DVD someday.
As for the cuts, I for one can do without the “hard R” stuff, especially torture scenes.
This was a fantastic live show. I’m sure EricJ is rolling over in his grave.
It was pretty great, although it’s worth noting that the streaming version had cut a good deal of the movie out, but this live version cut out even more.
The Kickstarter had a level with a Samurai Cop DVD listed, so I’m pretty sure they’ve already cleared the rights for a disc release.
Theater mostly full at the AMC in Rockaway NJ. A reliable crowd who are becoming familiar with one another, which is also nice.
I thought this was one of the funniest Rifftraks they’ve done. What a movie–YIKES, is all I can say in ten words or less.
Great job. Lots of energy. Makes me look forward to the next one, which not all of them have done quite so well.
One of the best Riff Trax live shows I have ever seen. Only complaint is that they cut the movie’s nudity (the only redeeming thing from this turd on film). We all had to live through Tommy Wiseau’s hip dick in The Room, so…
Great show! I can’t wait for the DVD of this.
I’m inclined to agree. The stuff they cut wasn’t funny, it was uncomfortable; the Rifftrax experience is better without it.
There are movies where that’s not the case. The constant gratuitous nudity in Stone Cold, for example, is funny.
Small crowd here in Flint, MI for second showing- we laughed our MF asses off. Question- why did they cut the scene where big face pours boiling oil on the blond horny cop?
I’m sad to say that I had to pass on going to this live show. It sounds like it would have been a ton of fun to watch in a theater with a bunch of MST/RT fans but in the end I had to choose between watching two shows I’d backed on Kickstarter (this and the MST3K revival) and watching the new MST3K won out. I’ve seen the Samurai Cop VOD numerous times (it’s one of my all-time faves) and will be getting this RiffTrax Live show as soon as it’s released. It was a tough decision, though.
I haven’t seen anyone else mention it so I thought I had better: Samurai Cop 2 is out there, and it’s not bad! I watched it on Amazon Prime a couple weeks ago. It was made in 2016 and has just about everyone from the original film (except Z’Dar, of course). If aren’t already sold, though, the villain is played by the disaster artist himself, Tommy Wiseau! Yes, this time it’s self-aware that it’s bad, but I still enjoyed it. YMMV
Not about tonight live show but it is great to see Rifftrax on Pluto TV channel 265.
Mixed feelings…I’ve bought many Rifftrax downloads I haven’t even watched yet and now they’re free on PLUTO. I think Rifftrax needs to go and make a donation to me…