“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum.”While it may not have the same cachet as Dirty Harry’s “Do you feel lucky, punk” or The Terminator’s “I’ll be back,” hearing Rowdy Ronnie Piper deliver that line in John Carpenter’s 1988 film, They Live, is still a classic movie moment. The rest of the movie is pretty darn good, too.
In They Live, Piper plays Nada, an unemployed construction worker trying to find a job, a place to live and a quiet life for himself away from prying eyes and nosey people. One day he finds a cardboard box full of cheap sunglasses that reveal a whole new world to him when he looks through them. While half the people he sees through the glasses are normal, the rest are revealed to be hideous aliens plotting to taking over the world.
John Carpenter has never been known for the subtlety of his movies, and They Live is about as heavy handed as he gets, from the in-your-face action scenes to the political themes that lie behind the alien invasion. There’s enough style and humor in the movie, however, to make the director’s medicine go down easy even if you don’t agree with what he’s saying.
And for those of you who enjoy movie trivia, pay close attention to the ‘Put the glasses on” fight between Piper and co-star Keith David. Now go rent South Park: Season 5 and watch Timmy and Jimmy in their epic 'Cripple Fight'. Note the similarities.
Starring Roddy Piper and david Keith. Directed by John Carpenter.
IMDB Site.
1 comment:
i think it is a very good movie. i enjoyed seeing piper. i saw him in a movie or a sitcom ? about 6 months ago ... where his daughter, introduced him as her father .. who used to be a wrestler. of course, he was older and had a beer belly this time around.i hiope he is doing alright ?
jack (md)
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