Recently, I went with my good friend Katie and her friends to the Fathom Event’s presentation of Rifftrax: Reefer Madness Live. After seeing both of their live events- Plan 9 From Outerspace and Rifftrax: Christmas Special- I expected teary eyed hilarity to ensue. Being a long time fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax in general, I believe these live events are a fantastic way to bring the culture together in a more social and less digital interaction. This performance I felt very pleased and then thoroughly disappointed.
Because Reefer Madness is not long enough to be a feature film, Michael, Bill and Kevin added a few shorts to the beginning to keep you in the seat for the full two hours. The shorts were beyond hilarious; I often felt the need to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep other patrons from mistaking me as a hysteric. I never thought I could be so entertained by a PSA on grass’s artistic uses.
Once the PSA of the evening had finally come on, the mood switched to one of confusion with smatterings of forced laughter. I wondered during the film if I had exhausted myself and was all laughed out, however I found that not too many others were laughing either. The jokes were a bit stale and related specifically to subjects that went over the head of the demographic. Is it that they believed stoner comedy has some way equated itself with observational humor? At the end they even said that they read some jokes that were submitted by the audience. I don’t know what they were smoking. *bud um tss*
Regardless, I felt no reason to tear down the walls and scream to the world about it. I just remember leaving the theater feeling a bit strange, like seeing a movie that had a bland, vague ending.
I still look forward with indescribable anticipation for the Halloween special, the Vincent Price version of House on Haunted Hill. Two minutes laughing the way they make me laugh is well worth the price of full admission.
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