Red Letter Media: A Man Cave of Awful Movies
Jay and Mike
Red Letter Media have a channel on YouTube, made famous by the infamous Plinkett Reviews. Jay and Mike (featured above) are independent filmmakers, professional editors, and cameramen. Besides the insightful-yet-satirical Plinkett Reviews, they are also known for Half in the Bag, in which Jay and Mike discuss recently released movies. As film critics, they are surprisingly honest. They often begin and end each episode with a skit performed badly by intention (sarcastic acting.) In these comedic bits, Jay and Mike play sleazy VCR repairmen working for Mr. Plinkett, taking advantage of his senility while always promising to repair his dusty old VCR player so the poor old man can finally get back to watching his favorite TV show: Night Court.
Rich Evans |
And there's Rich Evans, the jolly slob with a heart of gold...sort of. Rich is humble enough to allow himself to be the butt of many jokes, often thought up on the spot by Mike. His laughter has been said to cure cancer, and his 'good sport' nature allows for frequent gags about his weight, supposed health problems, a massive beanie baby collection, and whatever else Mike can come up with at his expense.
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Best of the Worst is undoubtedly one of their most addictive series. In these videos, the guys gather (sometimes with guest stars) to 'enjoy' often randomly selected videos of the past. Sometimes these are B Movies, other times they are anonymous videos about anything from worm farms to exploding varmints. It's ideal for those who enjoy discovering videos that are 'so bad they're good'. For me personally, I just don't like bad movies. However, I enjoy watching these poor guys suffer through them. They sometimes find a diamond in the rough, such as Surviving Edged Weapons (1988,) a training video made for policemen with graphic reenactments so suspenseful and stunning that Rich remarks: "It's now on a level where it's competing with Lethal Weapon!"
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Josh |
Tim |
Jack |
Regular guests include Josh "The Wizard" (left), Tim (centre), and Jack (right.) Josh is a musician, and seems well-read. Tim is an actor who appeared in Red Letter Media's film Space Cop. Jack grew up on a farm, to which Jay attributes his love for Supergirl (1884.) However, nothing on this earth may excuse Jack's love for Theodore Rex (1995.)
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After picking their videos, of which we see the best clips, the guys sit down for the discussion. Now it's time to make sense of the awfulness they've endured, taking turns to explain what each movie was about for the viewing public. Sometimes, the task is nearly impossible. A film called Ryan's Babe (2000) sparked repeated "What???!'s" as they viewed it. They later figured that such bizarre B Movies aren't just made by foreign filmmakers attempting to emulate American action films, but by actual aliens from outer space. Film has a specific language, in which the audience is informed through subtle means as to what to pay attention to, what to expect, or what we are supposed to be feeling. Extraterrestrials can't grasp the language of films, they just make them.
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One running gag is Mike's supposed alcoholism and suicidal depression. Rich suffers from crippling back pain, a non-existent social life, and is dying of diabetes. Mike makes Jay out to be gay a lot. Jack is sometimes ignored or mistreated. Rich is occasionally depicted as a low-level employee of Red Letter Media, left to clean up their mess after production ends.
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Rich dines out |
Scientist Man analyzes bad movie plots |
Basically, Red Letter Media is a fun way for guys to escape the monotony and unfairness of life, to indulge in all-too-familiar banter, with the smell of beer and beer farts. Whether insightful or goofy, these guys help us forget the horribleness which is our lives, as Mike puts it. They make us think, make us laugh, and they make a stand against the soulless corporate machine which is Hollywood.
