Best of the Bad … ‘Transylvania 6-5000’

Ooh-La-La †¦ any movie with Geena Davis dressed like Vampirella and hornier than a brass band can’t be that bad, right? Well, it depends on how you look at it. Along the same vein as UHF, this movie is more cheesy than flat-out bad, but lots of fun all the same. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985) was written and directed by Rudy De Luca, who has been involved with several of Mel Brooks’ films, including Silent Movie, High Anxiety and Spaceballs. The movie has been suggested to be inspired by the 1963 Looney Tunes cartoon, but the similarities are pretty thin, outside of the title.

The story goes like this †¦ two reporters, Jack and Gil, travel to Transylvania hoping to uncover the story of the century. Gil is excited about the possibility, but Jack is the ultimate pessimist and thinks the story is a joke. These two journalists, played by Jeff Goldblum and Ed Begley, Jr., check into a creepy old castle and set about investigating the alleged reappearance of Frankenstein’s monster. The odd and quirky hotel staff attempt to keep the reporters from learning their secrets. Jack and Gil stumble upon some strange characters and occurrences during their stay, including the Igor-like bellman Fejos (Michael Richards) who dreams of being an entertainer, the mummy, an overly sensitive werewolf and the nymphomaniac vampire Odette. The movie also stars comedic regulars Carol Kane and Jeffrey Jones.

The movie actually can be seen as an early foray into the physical comedy of Michael Richards as his character appears often throughout the film and carries much of the comedy. As with any true 80’s genre film, the soundtrack is unavoidably special. Transylvania 6-5000 is mostly a feature-length situational comedy with off-beat moments and humorous character interactions. See it once, see it twice †¦ it’s always the same, but its also always fun.