Sometimes a movie is so Awesomely Bad you just have to share. That was the case with a matinee I experienced this afternoon with the kids. The Nickelodeon, the local art-house theatre here in Columbia, is showing the 1964 non-classic Santa Clause Conquers the Martians as a late-night event for the Mystery Science Theatre crowd. This movie is so bad its good. In fact, it has immortalized as one of the Worst Movies of All Time. They also did a matinee today for those who might not be able to do a late night show, or who wanted to be able to teach their children the way of the Awesomely Bad Movie.I fit into both categories.
My seven-year old movie critic looked at me halfway through the movie and said, "Can we go now? This movie is dumb." That's when I had to violate movie theatre etiquette and talk to the kids and explain a bit more about what it means to enjoy an Awesomely Bad Movie. Then they got the joke and started laughing at how bad the movie was.
In this preview you can get a sense of how Awesomely Bad it is. The movie features Martians dressed in bad Halloween costumes who seek guidance from an ancient Martian sage who looks like Gandalf and is the same age as Yoda. Oh, and then they venture to earth to kidnap Santa, only to be confused by the bell-ringing Santa's on every street corner.
And the robot? Remind you of someone?
Happy holidays, y'all. From me, the kids, Santa, and the Martians he conquered.
