Rating: 2/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2018 | 16/52 | Cannon Group
In the future year of 1994, people run down the steets to the Worldvision Song Festival, where they watch the dazzling BIM, led by Pandi and Dandi, perform “Hey, Hey, Hey, BIM’s on the Way.” Behind the scenes, BIM’s agent, Mr. Boogalow, sweet-talks the show producers about BIM being the next big stars. The audience loves it. Next up, Alphie and Bibi, from Moosejaw, perform “Love, the Universal Melody.” The audience complains about their dull ballad, but one girl sits in rapturous tears. Slowly, the audience dies down and warms to their performance. Unnerved, Mr. Boogalow’s entourage gives the producer a red tape to play, which drowns out Alphie and Bibi’s song with dissonant synth noises, re-angering the audience.
So, BIM wins the competition. Mr. Boogalow gives several interviews to different reporters, who congratulate him, except for an independent reporter, who speculates that Boogalow rigged the competition. Mr. Boogalow threatens the reporter’s job to silence him. Then, Boogalow and his entourage go to an afterparty. Bibi also promised she would go, bringing a reluctant Alphie along with her. There, Boogalow offers them a goblet of champagne. Alphie refuses, but Bibi accepts and goes up to Boogalow’s penthouse with Dandi, who gives her a drug and makes a move on her.
Boogalow agrees to sign Alphie and Bibi. Alphie refuses, but Bibi sees this as an opportunity. What will be the fallout?
The movie is a Biblical allegory, where Alphie and Bibi are God’s chosen to bring a message of love to the devastated wasteland of 1994. Meanwhile, Mr. Boogalow is the antichrist, stifling love and giving people a BIM mark to show their allegiance. The mark is an equilateral triangle, whose degree measurements are 60 °, 60 °, 60 °. Dandi is the snake who tempts Bibi into the BIM lifestyle.
And in case any of this isn’t registering, Boogalow takes them down to hell, where Bibi tastes the apple. It seems the movie’s message is, “Hippies had some good ideas.”
This movie isn’t good, but it’s far from the garbage that some critics ascribe to it. It’s so ridiculous that its cult status is well-earned.
I’m imagining a world where this became the underground cult phenomenon that Rocky Horror was, and what those midnight screenings would look like.
** Stray Thoughts **
- Wait, I think Tim and Eric’s costumes in the Community episode “App Development and Conditions” came from this movie—specifically, Ashley, the guy who invents the BIM mark.
- George S. Clinton (not that George Clinton) translated the script from Hebrew to English. You know, the score for Mortal Kombat? Undercover Brother? Austin Powers?
- 1980 was a year of big swings! Altman’s Popeye also came out this year.
- I didn’t realize how unsubtle this movie would become.
- The scenes in hell are pretty wild.
- I love that BIM’s office is obviously a mall.
- The Boogalow reggae song is uncalled for.
- “USA, land of the free — is shooting up with energy, and every day she needs to take more… SPEED!” This song sounds like the first draft for the 90s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” theme song.
- The BIM mark is obligatory now! Is Boogalow both an agent and a ruler of the US?
- We get some gender fuckery!
- “Now I’m comingggggg, coming for you!” They couldn’t think of a metaphor for sex, so it’s just an image of couples in lingerie dancing on beds in various suggestive positions.
- The guy singing “Child of Love” has the singing voice of that old guy in church who would get solos.
- Mr. Topps is a helluvah pivot. He raptures them, I guess?
- Really should have watched this during the rapture yesterday.