1.) The Stellar Cast.
i mean, let's look at this lineup, Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Christopher Lloyd, Yakov Smirnov....and that's just the well known actors. This is a near perfect 80's cast, all in their prime, from the Robo-cop to Doc Emmet Brown. Let's not forget that Buckaroo Banzai also pre-dates both "Robo-Cop" and "Back to the Future", this is the movie where these burgeoning thespians cut their teeth before getting all super-famous on us.
2.) It's Impossible to Categorize
is it sci-fi, fantasy, a comedy, action, adventure, drama..........the only way to answer that question is with one word YES. There is no easy way to describe the movie. Anytime i start telling any of my friends about this great movie that no one's ever heard of, i find myself at a loss for words, except for maybe the words, "go rent it". Some people might take this the wrong way, even though as a movie BB is indescribable doesn't mean it's confusing by any means, it flows well and is easy to follow.
3.) Premise
I'm not going to go into detail here, because as i stated before, the movie is near indescribable. I will say that the earth is caught in the crossfire between rivaling aliens knows as "Lectroids" from Planet 10. There's the good guys, the "black lectroids" who speak with jamaican accents, and the bad guys, the "red lectroids" who we see as pastey white guys. The bad guys are led by Lord Whorfin (John Lithgow) who's actually possessing a european physicist named Dr. Lazardo. Buckaroo Banzai is quite the renaissance man, he's a neuro-surgeon, physicist, crime fighter, and a rock star among other things. His band "Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers" consists of him and his team of scientists and crime fighters. Buckaroo and his team are the only thing standing between Earth and annhiliation.
4.) The Oscillation Overthruster
The plot is driven by this device known as the Oscillation Overthruster. It's what allows travel between earth and the 8th dimension. It's what the good guys have, and the bad guys need. There is no way the evil "red lectroids" can free their comrades imprisoned in the 8th dimension without it. It bears a resemblance to the "flux capacitor" from "Back to the Future", but lest ye forget, BB predates BTTF, and is therefore the originator of such device.
5.) Random Greatness
This movie is made truly great by the quirks. Like the President of the United States is only shown in traction because of his back injury that is never explained. All the lectroids are named john (i.e. john o'conner, john parrot, john small berries, john big booty, john whorfin) even the girls. Really, all the names are pretty classic, there's obviously buckaroo banzai, but his team consists of Reno, Rawhide, New Jersey, Pinkie Caruthers, Penny Priddy, Perfect Tommy, etc....
So in conclusion, this movie is fucking great. Why did i decide to spend the last 20 minutes writing about a movie i happen to love and no one else has heard of...i have no idea, but go out and rent it, or netflix it or whatever....it's worth it.
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