Random Media awesomely brings us back to the '80s with the recent DVD and VOD releases of the tubulalry titled '60s-style scifi horror musical "Bang Bang Baby." This film has wonderful elements of the 1988 comedy "Earth Girls are Easy" and similar fare from that era, which takes separate inspiration from the beach party style musicals and low-budget horror films of the early '60s.
The colors not being so bright as in the films from the '60s and '80s, the light-hearted element being largely subdued, and the story line being edgier add a modern vibe to "Baby." This update continues with an "American Ingenue" having a central role and with lead character Stepphy fairly quickly losing her innocence on multiple levels. The most memorable line in the movie is this young woman, who is a mechanic, stating that she is the local service station.
The following YouTube clip of the "Baby" trailer nicely shows the style and plot of the film.
Jane Levy of the ABC sitcom "Suburgatory" stars as the aforementioned small-town Canadian girl Stepphy, who is poised to achieve her dream of musical stardom when the chaos that is set to ensue commences. The unexpected arrival of dreamy teen idol Bobby Shore, played by Justin Chatwin, sets that stage (pun intended) to get the personal and professional lives of Stepphy back on track. The pair performing the titular song in an all-singing/all-dancing segment is a highlight of this relationship (and the film). The numerous other musical numbers seem equally straight out of the early '60s.
The sci-fi horror style wrinkle is a mysterious purple fog from the local chemical factory causing spontaneous human mutations. On top of that creepy factory manager is becoming increasingly aggressive in pursuing Stepphy. The equally creepy old farmer contributes a nice element of "Scooby-Doo" to the mix.
Relative ingenue writer/director Jeffrey St. Jules decently pulls off all of this but possibly bites off more than he can masticate. As mentioned above, the energy level (and the suspense) are at a lower than expected level. Further, camp casting would have been nice.
The acting, the humor, and the story itself earn the B- grade that seems to be the mark for most films these days. This is not bad for what arguably is intended as a D movie.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Baby" is welcome to email me. You can also connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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