We started watching Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films last night for the second time. We saw it when it steamed on Netflix in the US some time ago, but now it's on Amazon Prime Video, and I really wanted to see it again, because since our first viewing, we've now seen many more of the films they reference in the documentary.
Man, the amount of nudity in the documentary is just crazy. They don't just reference the nudity from each film, they're showing all of it. Much of the nudity is completely awesome, but then they cut to the actresses saying they did not want to do it at all, so you end up feeling like an asshole. And I understand. On one hand, you could just quit, but your nascent Hollywood career might be fucking over before it begins, or you could do what you don't want to do, and maybe you'll get more work in the future, and you can hope it's the kind of work you hoped for. Fucking dehumanizing and infuriating. Anyway...
It's crazy to think how much they churned out in the 80s, and the real kicker is that not all of it is garbage. That Championship Season, the play that won Jason Miller (the actor who played the young priest in The Exorcist) the Pulitzer Prize was made intro a Cannon film! I've owned that film for a while now, and it's really good, but only because of the basic elements: great writing, great directing, and great acting. But as I remember, everything else is shit; I remember it looking like A low budget TV show of the 60s, unrestored.
You also have one of my favorite films ever, Bloodsport. They don't talk about that film at all in this, which is a cryin' shame, because to me it has the best spirit, with hilarious moments throughout. It's just the best in so many damn ways.
You have Breakin', and its terrible sequel. This was culturally cool, and I actually love a bunch about this movie, the attitudes, the sheer talent, the examination of class in America, and the fact that Jean Claude Van Damme and Michael Qissi (Tong Po from Kickboxer) show up as Venice Beach extras, with Van Damme, totally unknown at the time, clearly trying to steal the spotlight dancing in the background.
Then you have mindfuck movies, like Lifeforce, which is so out there and fucked up, you just have no idea what you're seeing. It has one of the most bizarre performances you could ever hope to see, from Patrick Stewart, no less, and it's worth every second.
But then you have most of their catalog, just pure shit. Irredeemably terrible, not even mildly trying to be good at all, garage. Masters of The Universe comes to mind. I mean, nothing remotely redeemable about it. But the fact that they had the run they did just blows my mind.
