Totally Awesome

November 20, 2006

VH1 finally ran of material for their I Love the 80s series, so they threw up their hands in defeat and made a movie instead.

The most 80s thing about this ‘teen’ movie is the fact that there are no teens in it. The youngest one is 23 – how authentic. Tracy Morgan is damn near 40 – but it doesn’t matter, because he was the best thing about the movie. I now have the urge to walk up to complete strangers and say, “Peek-a-boo, I’m going to hump you!” That would probably get me arrested, huh? No, I changed my mind – the ‘Oriental Mentor’ being a pedophile – THAT’S my favorite part.

Chris Kattan’s feather mullet is glorious. Chris Kattan’s tango (not to be confused with Mango) pants are glorious. Chris Kattan’s tongue-tastic makeout sessions with Dominique Swain – ehhhh…not so much. They’re almost as disturbing as the slimy lesbian kissing scene in Not Another Teen Movie.

Speaking of that other 80s teen movie spoof…Totally Awesome is not Not Another Teen Movie. True, both cover some of the same ground. Both poke fun at 80s teen movies, but Totally Awesome sticks to the 80s, while Not Another Teen Movie pokes fun at the 90s teen films as well. Totally Awesome is a kinder, gentler type of parody, more in the Mel Brooks mold. Not Another Teen Movie is definitely on the raunchy side – think Scary Movie or The Naked Gun. The biggest difference is Totally Awesome’s total lack of irony and self reference. Totally Awesome really does come across as an authentic 80s teen flick, while Not Another Teen Movie never lets the viewer forget that they are watching an adult parody of films made for teenagers.

I wouldn’t mind if VH1 made several more movies like this. How about an 80s sex romp modeled after Porky’s and Hardbodies? Or maybe one modeled on those bullshitty After School Specials. Even a spoof of the 90s teen revival might work, but what I’d really like to see is a weekly TV show spoofing 90s teen TV like Beverly Hills 90210, My So-Called Life and is it too soon to include Buffy?