Episode #41: Suburban Commando
Listen to Episode 41 of the Podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.
SUMMARY - In Suburban Commando, Hulk Hogan plays an intergalactic vigilante hero named Shep Ramsey. Ramsey has just defeated an evil warlord and has some bounty hunters hot on his trail. In order to lay low and recharge his damaged spaceship, he finds himself on earth and does the best he can to fit in with these weird humans.
Screenplay by Frank A. Cappello; Directed by Burt Kennedy, and released on October 4, 1991.
FILM DISCUSSION
The movie does not start out promising. It has an obvious homage to Star Wars, but the effects are much, much worse than what were produced in 1977 for that.
The set design of the opening scene was on the same level as The Terror Within II and Hulk Hogan was moving so slowly for an action star.
Generally speaking, it's production level is on par with very early Disney original movies but with a couple slightly more grotesque moments.
On earth, we found that little made sense, like how quickly the workshop was converted into an apartment
Or how Hulk found the apartment to begin with, considering this was the sign.
The whole thing with the traffic light also didn't make any sense.
We were astonished to learn that the kids from this iconic (?) shot are hardly in the movie and do not factor into the plot at all.
It took a while for the movie to fully grab us, but eventually the wacky characters and situations won us over.
Hulk interacting with this new world was charmingly goofy.
A couple major highlights were in the arcade...
...and interacting with the mime that is performing in a dark back alley for some reason.
Despite featuring a prominent wrestler, there are only a couple references, like this headlock
The only other wrestler to appear on screen is The Undertaker, filmed before he actually landed that role.
In all honesty, the movie has no right to be as fun as it ended up being and the music (scroll on down) was also campy fun.
We like to talk about coming attractions or trailers when possible, but our DVD copy didn't have any. It did have a game where you pick the right movie off of a random picture.
The equipment used to capture screenshots didn't let us see the still. Sometimes it was blank
So, you don't get to see what 8 out of 10 looks like as we mentioned in the podcast. Instead here's a 5 out of 10 that came from guessing a couple blank ones correct.
Awards Talk: None to speak of. Perhaps it was considered to be too kid-oriented to even warrant an MTV Movie Award nomination.
TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE
This week we don't have any true crime segment to talk about so we jump right into music.
The movie had two original songs that caught our attention. Really, it's best if you just listen to them. "Nice Place to Live (But I Wouldn't Want to Visit)" featuring Hogan on backup vocals.
Ramsey by The Next Big Thing - both songs are certainly worth a quick listen
On to music that would be on the radio, here are your Billboard Top 5 Songs for the week of October 5, 1991
Good Vibrations - Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
I Adore Mi Amor - Color Me Badd
Emotions - Mariah Carey
Do Anything - Natural Selection
Love of a Lifetime - Firehouse
On the TV side, we watched the Saturday Night Live episode that aired the next day hosted by Jeff Daniels with musical guest Color Me Badd. If you watch on Peacock, it appears to have all the sketches (no songs) in what is a decent episode. This one includes the debut of The Chris Farley Show.
This is also the second week in a row where we have a direct video game adaptation for the movie. This game was only released for computers (and not consoles like the Super Nintendo). Here's a full playthrough for you to enjoy how they adapted the source material.
RANKINGS & RATINGS
Nikki 1-5 star scale - 2 out of 5
Jon 0-4 star scale - 2 out of 4
Would you watch it again? - Surprisingly yes. It's not the most well-produced movie, but if you turn your mind off a bit, its really easy to get roped into the cheesy, campy fun. A good amount of the silly gags hold up and its a fun movie to laugh at and with.
If you want to watch Suburban Commando, as of this recording in November 2021, it’s available on Digital Rental, VHS, DVD. Check your local listings.
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