zyzyb2k

One cliché after another that fuels some awful acting. There is a lame attempt at a lesbian relationship, that would make any lesbian cringe. The programmer keeps trying to hit on the heroine, her partner, the sheriff. There is a hurricane and the probability of a nuclear plant meltdown, yet the 'maintenance man' is more concerned with eating and his lunch break - right up to the last five minutes of this disaster. A woman gives birth in a barn in the middle of a hurricane and immediately thereafter is able to run briskly up the road to a house as if she had just made toast where she, the sheriff, and the clueless programmer are met with, "oh a baby!" I won't waste the reader's time writing about the dreadful writing, acting, editing, production (de)-values in this waste of film. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

I saw "Jason's Big Problem" at the 2010 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival, with a raving audience. It reminded me of a spoof film from long ago, "If You Don't Stop It, You'll Go Blind". Well-written and perfectly-cast, it started with big laughs, and built from there. My sides hurt by the end credits. Jason's transformation from shy, somewhat nebbishy guy, to in-demand stud, was superbly handled by Matthew D. McCallum. His two co-workers, played by Christopher Halladay and Kalani Queypo, provide some of the biggest, grossest laughs, but all in good fun. This film is not for the prudes, but if you have an open mind, you will definitely be "LMAO"! Enjoy!

The writer/director based the story on a very old premise: boy meets boy, each fall heavily. Then, the 'troubled' transsexual sibling of one of them inserts her/himself into the guys' early courtship. To muddy this setup further, one half is a French national who enters into a 'Green Card' wedding with a not-too-cooperative lesbian friend.

From incredible bliss one moment, to a 180-degree flip of one half, falling for every ploy by the transsexual sibling, without any questioning at all. The broken-hearted other half just pines tearfully, his entreaties to his other half completely ignored.

The siblings represent the worst stereotypes: vain, flighty, young queer, with no moral center. Troubled transsexual who is a leech, a thief, and a vicious liar.

This script could not have been saved by a good director. Whatever acting capabilities possessed by this crew, are completely absent in this production.

Painful to watch, don't waste your time.

"The Groove Tube" was initially shown on video, in the first "video theaters" here in Boston. In one room, there were TV monitors on high stands, with old movie theater seats, in small groups facing the monitors. There were old refrigerators stocked with Pepsi, and baskets of York Peppermint Patties. In a second, smaller room, there were no seats, just large pillows. That was the 'smoking' room, i.e., people got high in there. That act only added to the hilarity of the video.

I was a 'frequent viewer'; the scenes I liked most and remember to this day are: Koko The Clown, The Kramp Family Kitchen (Kramp Easy-Lube Shortening), Safety Sam/ VD PSA, the Chevy Chase hitchhiker w/ nude runs through the woods, the Finger Ballet on what was eventually revealed to be the nude body of a woman. The last item was very reminiscent of the late, incredible Ernie Kovacs. Now, I've lost a lot of readers that are under 48 ("who is Ernie Kovacs??") but trust me, it's funny stuff.

One reason I was a 'frequent viewer' was that I, and my friends, would bring other "Groove Tube" virgins to see it. We would sit and slyly watch the faces of the 'virgins' as the "Safety Sam" PSA would play. As the camera slowly zooms in on "Sam", we would wait for that "OH!" of recognition on the 'virgin's' face. Each time was more hilarious than the last. And then that 'virgin' would then bring a friend to see the show, repeating what we had done. To get this joke, you must watch the video.

Yes, some of it is dated, but most plays, film, television, and now videos are. Just look at any video made in the 1980's.

I did see "The Groove Tube" in a theater as a film, a grainy transfer from the original video. It had been cut, and was missing some of the original high-point scenes.

The first "Saturday Night Live" show, featuring Chevy Chase, elicited instant remarks of, "that's the guy from "The Groove Tube" ", so it was a precursor for Chevy.

I can't look at a can of shortening without hearing the voice-over, "coat your hands with a generous amount of Kramp Easy-Lube shortening..." and thinking of the "Kramp Holiday Loaf" recipe. Always gets me laughing in the Baking Needs aisle in the grocery store.

The early 70's were parlous times; "The Groove Tube" was fresh, new, and really 'got' the humor of the times. It offered a 'hip generation', humor that wasn't available in any other format/medium. MJH

I enjoyed this movie, particularly John Benjamin Hickey's work. He is natural, relaxed, and did not force emotions, given the topic of the surviving partner of a gay man who had died of AIDS.

It dealt with the tremendous emotional loss, the lack of social validation of his relationship (not considered a husband/widow) in a poignant way. Hickey's character's attempt at suicide is not far-fetched. At the height of the initial wave of gay men dying from AIDS, their surviving partners/ spouses were often cut-out or barred from funeral services, denied access to homes they co-owned or rented, and had joint bank accounts emptied by hateful family members of the deceased.

While the bank teller character is more caricature, she lends the right humorous twist to this 'road trip/love story'. The various Texas characters are on-the-money, well-cast, and sweet.

I have watched this movie a number of times and enjoyed it very much, each time.