Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Wacko; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 0.75
Direction: 1.00
Pace: 0.75
Acting: 1.00
Enjoyment: 1.00
TOTAL: 4.50 out of 10.00
This film could have been much better had they revised Dick Harbinger and Mr Doctor Graves - though it could be their comedic personas that are dated and obsolete, though both still have some laughs in them.
The story is that of Mary Graves, who thirteen years earlier witnessed a murder so heinous she's bound to be screwed up by the terrible images she must carry with her for the rest of her life - Her sister and boyfriend receiving a trim from a killer wearing a pumpkin as a mask and pushing a humongous lawnmower. Now, thirteen years later, could the killer and his motor mower be back in town and looking to continue his landscaping business? Well, there has been an escape from the local nuthouse. But don't worry, Dick Harbinger is on the scene. There should be a lot to laugh at, like the parody of Halloween's opening sequence. Where, instead of Mikey Myers scoping out his sister, it's daddy who's peeking in on his daughter. It's expertly constructed and shot, and you explicitly know who's having the pee taken out of them. But when the punchline comes, it's unfunny. And there are too many skits like this one that miss the mark. And the repetition of the "she's bound to be screwed up..." narrative moves from being funny to becoming annoying and predictable - and predictably annoying. But that said, there is still some clever wordplay - I particularly liked the scene when Mr Doctor Graves admits to the missus that he's not a Doctor at all and that Doctor is his first name. There's even some funny slapstick, like Doctor Graves falling from a stepladder after peeping on Mary through her bedroom window while she's sleeping. His jaw hits every run on the way down. One of the funniest characters is Tony Schlongini - the guy even has his own Theme Tune. And thanks to his name, he gets all the licentious laughs. The table tipping sketch is one of my faves.
The direction needed to be better. I heartily believe that Graydon Clark isn't a great comedic director. Many of the comedic fails within the movie come from terrible timing or humdrum cinematography. Though, as I mentioned above, he impeccably replicates the Halloween opening, this is one of a few exceptions - too few. To add power to the punchline, he needed to render more exciting imagery and snappier tempos to the gags.
The cast is excellent, though Joe Don Baker appears to suffer from Graydon Clarks' malady. He's not a comedic actor. You can see he's trying to be funny, but perceiving this, it renders most of his work humourless and a tad lame. On the other hand, the remainder of the cast do splendidly in most of their scenes, but still, there are quite a few that fall flat
Wacko is not a laugh-a-minute or out-loud comedy, but it should raise a chortle and smile in a few places. As such, I'd recommend it for only one viewing; and then only to the die-hard comedic horror fans. Otherwise, I recommend watching Pandemonium or Full Moon High, which are better comedy-horrors from the 80s.
Stop mowing the lawn, get off that damned mower, and visit my Killer Thriller Chillers, Absolute Horror, and Just For Laughs lists to see where I ranked Wacko.
Take Care & Stay Well.
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