Nostalgia is a powerful thing though perhaps it is better to leave the
past in the past. Recently given the opportunity (via a gift certificate
from my cel phone provider for staying with them) I purchased a
nostalgic movie from my childhood. A movie that has not been available
for rental or purchase since its release in 1982, a movie better left in
my memory.
That movie?
The Pirate Movie with Kristy McNicol.
A contemporary 80's reimagining of Gilbert and Sullivin's The Pirates Of
Penzanse, this movie engaged my lactose intolerance to its limit but the
latter half is strangely enjoyable as it gets more and more absurd.
Essentially Kirsty McNicol is Mabel, an outcast tomboy visiting a
pier-side pirate demonstration for tourists. The ultra hunky Christopher
Atkins invites her for a ride on his boat, only to be left behind by a
bikinied bevy of babes, who virtually kidnap poor Chris, who really
wants to hang with Mabel. Mabel then rents a small sailboat to chase
after them only to fall overboard and wash unconscious on the beach.
Here the movie really begins as we enter her unconscious mind that has a
penchant for pop culture and singing out loud.
The movie is mediocre drivel for the most part, but the spunky and sassy
Kristy occasionally makes sarcastic comments to the camera, allowing the
audience the moment to revel its crappiness. The singular stand out song
is the titular Pumping And Blowing which plays during a sequence where
Chris is searching underwater, his only air coming from a diving helmet
hardwire to a hand pump. Kristy, of course, tirelessly works the pump
and sings the song, pausing as she gets caught up in the emotion of the
moment, choking the air off. Cartoon fish sing the chorus as the scene
apes a prototypical Disney moment, however, the lyrical content of the
song and its double entendre nature add a very adult layer to the scene.
The movie is filled with many such moments and I was surprisingly
reminded of how raunchy movies ostensibly for kids used to be. There is
simply no way a song called Pumping and Blowing would make it into a PG
movie in today's hyper conservative environment.
past in the past. Recently given the opportunity (via a gift certificate
from my cel phone provider for staying with them) I purchased a
nostalgic movie from my childhood. A movie that has not been available
for rental or purchase since its release in 1982, a movie better left in
my memory.
That movie?
The Pirate Movie with Kristy McNicol.
A contemporary 80's reimagining of Gilbert and Sullivin's The Pirates Of
Penzanse, this movie engaged my lactose intolerance to its limit but the
latter half is strangely enjoyable as it gets more and more absurd.
Essentially Kirsty McNicol is Mabel, an outcast tomboy visiting a
pier-side pirate demonstration for tourists. The ultra hunky Christopher
Atkins invites her for a ride on his boat, only to be left behind by a
bikinied bevy of babes, who virtually kidnap poor Chris, who really
wants to hang with Mabel. Mabel then rents a small sailboat to chase
after them only to fall overboard and wash unconscious on the beach.
Here the movie really begins as we enter her unconscious mind that has a
penchant for pop culture and singing out loud.
The movie is mediocre drivel for the most part, but the spunky and sassy
Kristy occasionally makes sarcastic comments to the camera, allowing the
audience the moment to revel its crappiness. The singular stand out song
is the titular Pumping And Blowing which plays during a sequence where
Chris is searching underwater, his only air coming from a diving helmet
hardwire to a hand pump. Kristy, of course, tirelessly works the pump
and sings the song, pausing as she gets caught up in the emotion of the
moment, choking the air off. Cartoon fish sing the chorus as the scene
apes a prototypical Disney moment, however, the lyrical content of the
song and its double entendre nature add a very adult layer to the scene.
The movie is filled with many such moments and I was surprisingly
reminded of how raunchy movies ostensibly for kids used to be. There is
simply no way a song called Pumping and Blowing would make it into a PG
movie in today's hyper conservative environment.
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