Premise: A famous rock star scientist, surgeon, test pilot stops an alien invasion.
What is this movie? I thought I did a decent job preparing myself for it. I knew it was odd. I'm somewhat familiar with the look and costumes of the film. I kind of knew to go in expecting a Terry Gilliam type of movie. And still, I wasn't ready for the metric ton of content that was thrown at me.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai is a 100-minute movie with the mythology of a complete 20 book series. I just assumed this was an adaptation of the comic book series or something. It turns out that it's a wholly original screenplay, which is insane. This movie is packed with odd details that all feel like they have a backstory. It turns out, the screenwriter did have many unfinished drafts of Buckaroo Banzai stories over the years that he worked on, all with their own odd touches that he then integrated into this screenplay. Upon hearing that, the movie did make a lot more sense to me. I think we've all had that super creative friend with absolutely no follow through; the frustrating person who is more inventive than you could ever be but never does anything with it. Buckaroo Banzai is essentially the result of what happens if you lock that friend in a room and force them to finally finish something. That's so rare.
I do think this movie is the kind that I needed to see when I was younger to fully appreciate. It needed to blow up my brain, which is much harder to do in my 30s than in my adolescence. I do appreciate a lot about the movie anyway. There's a deep mythology that it wisely doesn't try to explain. It's up to the audience to decide what each costume or stray detail means. I feel like every character shows up on screen with a 100-page back story that I want to hear. While the movie is almost transparently hip, the storytelling is so earnest, that I don't begrudge it. This really is the kind of movie that someone could try to make a 100 times and it completely falls apart 99 times. I'm not sure how they were allowed to make this.
I was floored by how good the cast is. It's got same big names when they were already known quantities. John Lithgow was fresh off two Oscar nominations. Ellen Barkin already had roles in Diner and Tender Mercies. Jeff Goldblum had The Big Chill and The Right Stuff the year before. Christopher Lloyd was about to get much bigger, but he had already completed an acclaimed run on Taxi. I think Buckaroo Banzai himself, Peter Weller was the biggest unknown at the time. I'd love to know how they got this cast together for this crazy movie with a first-time screenwriter and director.
Is it weird that I think my favorite part of the whole movie was the closing credits? The credits play over a scene of Buckaroo Banzai striding confidently as his costars slowly join in following him. The whole time, that excellent theme music is playing. There's something so joyous about it. I'd have to check, but I think this was also my favorite part of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zizou, which copies the same idea in its credits. Come to think of it, I also love the "Super Troopers" performance at the end of Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. I think I just love credits that are a final bow to the audience.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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