shark-19

No amount of alcohol can render this film bearable. I saw Eddie Murphy on Letterman a few years after this dog was released, talking about why he has to be careful with which scripts he accepts. He said, "A few years back I made a film called Best Defense. And it was bad. [looks into camera] REAL bad!"

I remember renting this in high school because the cover seemed to portray a porn film, yet this wasn't in the "big wooden cabinet." It attempts to be a soft-core pornographic comedy, which I guess it succeeds at without ever really delivering on the "pornographic" or the "comedy" part. Strangely enough, I've talked to many other people and if this film is mentioned, they've all seen it. Why? I don't know. Two memorable parts are the black man playing a fairy godmother (?) and the king announcing "The Kingdom has a Snapper!" (You'll have to figure that one out yourself.)

I could watch any Ed Wood movie until the sun comes up. When I was very young, my grandparents got "The Book of Lists" and under "Worst Films Ever Made", _Santa_Claus_Conquers_The_Martians_ was #7. Imagine my delight when, years later working at an electronics store, we got this movie in stock for FOUR DOLLARS! This film is bad. It's real bad. It's so bad that, watching it alone in my apartment I have to keep turning it off because I get embarrassed. The props are cardboard, the plot (plot?) reverses itself two or three times. I find by checking the IMDB that 8 of the 15 'primary' cast members have never done ANYTHING else in film. I see that someone is remaking this thing in '99. I'm thinking, "Why?"

After I rented this for the fourth time, I decided to save myself some trouble and just buy it. K&S is a believable portrayal of four close friends, guys who just graduated and can't really understand why they just spent four years in college. It also focuses on the relationship difficulties graduation can bring. Eric Stoltz is fantastic as the "Eternal College Student," tending bar while enrolled for his 10th year. I especially enjoyed the party scene wherein five people sitting at one table seem to be having five different conversations. Josh Hamilton and Olivia d'Abo's mid-day drunk scene is very enjoyable as well. This is the type of film I like best--no big climax, no car chases or explosions, no teary farewells. Just great acting and writing that leave you satisfied but wanting to rewind and watch again.

Curse of the Starving Class showcases the fantastic acting talents of Woods, Bates, Thomas, and most notably, Randy Quaid who fits the bill of the sleazy desert-realtor to a tee. James Woods' portrayal of an alcoholic father to a farm family way, waaay down on their luck makes for great acting, but not quite good enough to make this film MOVE. I kept waiting for this story to turn around and pay off somehow, but by the end I still felt dragged down into poverty.