by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
Have you ever been stuck in front of the television drinking beer with a friend, because there seems to be nothing to do, and then you land on one of those guilty pleasure movies? If the friend you are with is witty enough, this can turn out to be an entertaining night in front of the tube. If you don’t have such a friend, you’re in luck, because Master Pancake Theater exists to be that friend.
Three comedians from Austin Texas, John Erler, Joe Parsons and Ben Bartley, provide the service of mocking the classic films of their generation on a regular basis at Austin, Texas’ Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. This past weekend they came to Jacksonville to visit their expatriate Austinian, Tim Masset of the San Marco Theatre, and they rolled their show into town with them.
Unless you were enjoying a long nap under a large rock last week, you heard about this event because they blitzed our media as few comedians do. From their interview on channel 4’s morning show to their interview on WJCT radio, they didn’t just make the usual pop into the printed mediums. And they were well worth the ballyhoo.
Before the show, instead of the usual slides of local advertisers and images of San Marco, they played bizarre middle-twentieth century European videos. Although they were amusing to watch, they weren’t nearly as amusing as this presentation of The Breakfast Club.
At the top of the show the three comedians introduced themselves and as soon as the opening credits took the screen, the jokes abounded. And funny jokes. Although they have a penchant for college football jokes that I didn’t always get, their astute observations and riotous wit brought this dull old brat pack film back to life. They introduced drinking games that require a chug every time principal Vernon made the metal sign with his hands and they sang Beegees every time he walked down a hall.
Speaking of hall, they were ruthless to Anthony Michael Hall, as they were to Judd Nelson’s nostrils, Molly Ringwald’s lips and Ally Sheedy’s entire character, Allison Reynold, who they pegged as “the first Cure fan in film.”
The jokes weren’t restricted to the quips the three comedians in the front row whispered into their mics (or, in the case of the Gollum-like voice they put to Allison Reynolds, screeched voluminously), they also stopped the film at a halfway point and appeared dressed as the three main characters. Principal Vernon, John Bender, and a brutish Claire Standish were contestants on this stage version of The Dating Game. They had a member of the audience come up and ask the three bachelor(ettes) some questions, to which the troupe answered in character. The best response was John Bender’s one-man, one-act play.
This concept is so simple that it seems a shame that they aren’t available all of the time or that someone locally can’t start up a Jacksonville chapter of Master Pancake Theater. I wish every Megaplex in town would devote at least one screen to a crew of witty kids that will lampoon most of the blockbusters that hit those screens. Hell, I’ll do it for free.
Keep your scanners peeled for Master Pancake Theater’s return to the San Marco Theater and make sure you don’t miss out on the hilarity. If you just can’t wait, you can check out Master Pancake Theater on You Tube or go to myspace.com/masterpancake.
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