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Thursday, April 12, 2007
ATHF: Not enough laughs to fill 90 minutes
Several years ago, my friends and I would meet up at my buddy Pope’s house, fire up the grill, crack open a frozen bottle of Tito’s and sit back and laugh to the point of tears at the absurdity that is Adult Swim’s ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force.’ The ritualistic gathering celebrated the rapid-fire, bite-size portions of ridiculous hilarity of these anthropomorphic food items. Unfortunately, the attempt to stretch that tasty morsel of comedy gold into a 90-minute meal with the new ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters’ fails rather miserably.
Fans of the show will certainly be the only folks lured into paying $8 to go see animated fast food endure an intergalactic journey to discover the nature of their origin/defeat the evil mastermind behind a Frankenstein exercise machine/do whatever the hell it is the supposed plot of this film purports to be, but even they will most likely be disappointed.
The joy and beauty of the ATHF cartoon has always been the strong characters writers Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis concocted in their twisted minds, and the relationships between these victims of unknown circumstance. The sweet, confused Meatwad (voice by Willis) and uncontrollably sardonic, sex-crazed Master Shake (Dana Snyder) constantly wear on the thin patience of blaxploitation-influenced Frylock (Carey Means), the elder of the group who must repeatedly keep his outrage in check. The frenetic dialogue of the three characters harkens back to the interplay of the Three Stooges.
Sadly, in “ATHFCMFFT” the dynamic among the three is generally lost in a sea of confused narratives — the writers seem to have written one sequence, woken up the next morning and written the next without ever having gone back to look at what they had written previously. Unlike most television shows-cum-movies that exhaust one contrived bit for 90 minutes, “ATHFCMFFT” schizophrenically skips from one plot device to the next, never fully engaging the audience. To their credit, I guess, the filmmakers remained true to the intention of the show: always be ridiculous and make as little sense as possible. But, as with most pyschedelia, it is more palatable in smaller doses.
There are few moments of the brilliant, caustic, and generally deadpan, wit that make the television show such a joy, but they are too few and far between. In fact, the biggest laughs probably come in the title sequence, which had me laughing out loud. So, if you go, get thee to the theater on time, a task I would imagine may be asking a bit much from this film’s target demographic.
If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll probably see the film regardless of my advice, but I suggest you wait for the movie to come out on DVD. And in the meantime, fire up the grill, break out the beverage of your choice and take in some Adult Swim to get your ATHF fix.
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Turk Pipkin continues down a Nobel path
A few years ago, one of Pipkin’s young daughters asked him about the overriding problems facing the world. Somewhat at a loss for an answer, Pipkin set out to ask (and film) some of the greatest minds in the world about the challenges the human race faces as we enter the 21st century. The film, “Nobelity,” became, in effect, Pipkin’s legacy project. He was intent on finding out how he and the rest of the world could leave the planet and its inhabitants in better shape for future generations.
The overwhelming success and positive feedback Pipkin (and his wife and producer Christy Ellinger Pipkin) received in making the film led to the establishment of The Nobelity Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness and education about global issues. Inspired by his talks with the nine Nobel Laureates featured in the film, and backed by the outpouring of support and from people across the country who were moved by the documentary, Pipkin has set out to make a follow-up documentary titled “One Peace at a Time.” As the filmmaker/author/actor said Tuesday night, “Some roads, when you get on, there’s no turning back.”
The film, the title of which is a nod to sage advice Pipkin incurred from laureates Bishop Desmond Tutu and Wangari Maathai, seeks to find answers and solutions to the problems posed in the first film. Instilled with the belief that humanity is a t a crucial turning point, Pipkin hopes to express to audiences that one individual can indeed affect change on the world in which we live.
To that effect, among the celebrities and power-brokers in attendance Tuesday night’s reception at 501 Studios was Matthew Dowd, former chief strategist for the Bush campaign in 2004. As you are probably aware, Dowd, and his disenchantment with the Bush administration, was featured on the front page of the New York Times (subscription) on April 1. In his interview with Jim Rutenberg, Dowd stated that he may well be done with working in politics and mentioned that he senses a greater calling in his life, possibly as a missionary or working to help development of third world countries. It was very telling to see that Dowd made an appearance to hear Pipkin discuss and screen examples of the work he has done in the troubled parts of Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Despite having to shake hands and accept pats-on-the-back of encouragement regarding his defection from the Bush camp, it seemed to me that Dowd listened and watched with intention, as Pipkin spoke about issues that Dowd had so recently discussed as being near to his heart.
In addition to Dowd, other notable Austinites in attendance at the event that featured delicious food from local providers Hudson’s on the Bend, Maneul’s and Cissi’s Market, included Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson and his date KXAN’s Michelle Valles (camera crew in tow), Mayor Will Wynn and John Paul DeJoria (of Paul Mitchell fame).
Although Pipkin stopped short of Red McCombs’ famous fundraising tactic of locking the door until people pulled out their wallets, his message came across loud and clear, as I overheard verbal commitments of financial support from many in attendance who expressed a desire to be a part of Pipkin’s latest project.
If you want to learn more about the Nobelity Project or Pipkin’s first film, “Nobelity,” read my interview with Pipkin from last year’s SXSW and visit the film’s and non-profit’s Web sites.
