'Carnival Magic' is a perfect example of the "Why did you make it - but we're glad you did!" kind of movies which are a big feature of the 70s and 80s. Lots and lots of cash to turn out these clunkers because the budget for each one is probably a few thousand bucks... in coppers! But now, decades later, these terrible movies are comedy gold!
The plot is something that even the Dukes Of Hazzard would have laughed off... but in the wrong hands, someone somewhere can create something out of nothing, right? Mind reader Markov and talking chimp Alex burn up the screen with their spot-on performances as rejects from mainstream movies!
There's lots to work with here for the amiable folks steering The Satellite Of Love and they prove themselves up to the task. Lots of riffs and references till the bitter end.
I'm in the home stretch of my MST3K revival marathon. I'm watching all 14 episodes in sequence and this is number 12. (Just two more to go!) I have now gotten into the habit of skipping over all the bits that don't have Jonah (nearly said Joel!) and the bots. I'm not at all interested in the invention exchanges, the song and dance numbers or the occasional guest spots. And Kinga and the Frank character just aren't doing it for me, sorry.
But the movies are te-riff-ic (see what I did there?) so despite the filler stuff, this is a good episode.
I'm still lamenting the subtle, bawdy adult gags which used to be a feature of the original series that had Joel at the helm, but I suppose I'll just have to do without them.
Best gag: "Just move that hotplate. Technically, you're sitting in my kitchen!"
