Pecker...I hate to say this, but

[Jon Goodman]

I'm more than a little bit disappointed. I have been watching/listening to this grand epic of a $15,000 total budget movie while working tonight, and several things have struck me:
1) At best, this is a poor movie. At worst, I'm hesitant to say what it is. It sort of reminds me of "Two Lane Blacktop" with even less of a plot.
2) As bad as it is, it has a redeeming and VERY valuable side benefit. I think this movie will protect your home from burglary forever. Here is how: When you leave, simply turn on your TV and VCR with the movie playing. If a robber breaks into your house, he will see this on the TV, begin watching it, and before he realizes what is happening, so many of his brain cells will be destroyed, he will be unable to figure out how to get back out of your house. You (and the police) will find him blinking and drooling and staring into space when you return.
3) This movie probably ended the hopes and dreams of several actors and actresses. Mary Kay Place (the one recognizable name) probably wishes "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" had never been cancelled, forcing her to take parts like this.
4) Anybody here could have made a better movie! Did you notice how many extreme close-ups Pecker took with his Canonet? Some of them were as close as 50 cm. What would he have needed to pull this off? That's right...he would have needed an "Auto-Up"...just like the one currently being offered in conjunction with the cute Minolta Hi-Matic F on RFF.
5) I think the Cecil B DeMille of the new millennium is in our audience somewhere. Get that Hi-Matic F and save us from "Pecker II"...please! It could happen. And it could be worse...maybe a lot worse.
6) Remember, the "Pecker" actors/actresses would be older. Sort of like the aging Harry Potter cast. Soon, I understand they're going to release the final movie in that series..."Harry Potter and the Catheter of Fire."
7) I'm just kidding. The last movie in the series is "Harry and the Heartbreak of Psoriasis." Anybody knows that.

Jon

 

[ch1]

Jon,

I have to ask this - and I mean no disrespect. Salesmanship is an honorable profession:

During the day - do you sell used cars like the guys on those "local" TV ads? 😀

 

[bcs89]

"Two Lane Blacktop"


Yup - he's a car guy. 🙂

 

[AsahiPentax]

I didn't like Pecker either. Very boring and pointless IMHO 🙁

 

[Jon Goodman]

Car salesman? Nah, actually I'm a pilot for Mayflower.
Jon

 

[amateriat]

I haven't seen Pecker, but I have seen Two-Lane Blacktop several times (the first two times on the big screen), and enjoyed it a lot. Granted, it's the proverbial "love it or hate it" movie (and more than a few friends thought I was nuts for being in the former camp). I still want to see Pecker in spite of the mixed reviews (and also in spite of the fact that I'm not a major John Waters fan).

By contrast, I've heard truly awful things about the recent bio-drama about Harold Edgerton, which saddened me.


- Barrett

 

[captainslack]

You're not alone, Jon. My wife & I turned it off before it was through.

 

[Rich Silfver]

Couldn't stand the movie.

 

[bcs89]

So Taylor cant act - the '55 is the star!

 

[Jon Goodman]

"Pecker" would have been much better if it had been a silent movie with captions from a completely different movie....like "My Cousin Vinnie" or "Paint Your Wagon."

 

[wlewisiii]

I have to agree that I didn't care for it. But the most pointless movie I've had the misfortune of sitting through has to be Eraserhead. Comparatively Pecker is a delight... 😱 :bang: 🙁

William

 

[ch1]

"Pecker" would have been much better if it had been a silent movie with captions from a completely different movie....like "My Cousin Vinnie" or "Paint Your Wagon."

Ah but Jon:

"5) I think the Cecil B DeMille of the new millennium is in our audience somewhere. Get that Hi-Matic F and save us from "Pecker II"...please! It could happen. And it could be worse...maybe a lot worse."

Are we selling them on that Hi-Matic yet. Let's not lose "purpose" here with "banter" 😀

Gotta love this guy!!

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

Definetly in the minority but I liked it 🙂 John Waters isn't everyones cup of tea though 😀

dan

 

[JoeFriday]

John is being very generous in his description of it.. I'm trying to think of one redeeming quality about it other than the Canonet and Christina Ricci's tight outfits.. and I'm not even sure about her outfits.. I also turned it off after a half hour.. it's not like it was even remotely possible in a parallel universe that Pecker's "art" was being shot by his camera

 

[Jon Goodman]

Well, George, I'm certainly trying to help somebody realize how that Hi-Matic could bring them much closer to living their dreams, but at the same time, I'm working on a stream of thought here. See, now I've proposed "Pecker" might have been better as a silent movie, and the technology of that cute little Hi-Matic F surely fits with a silent movie production, doesn't it? I mean, it isn't exactly a camcorder. And Cecil B DeMille...well, C B actually got his start in silent movies, so I'd say that logically fits into my scheme, and as for Pecker...the last line in the movie is "So what's next, Pecker?" (and Pecker's reply is) "Well, uh, you know...I'm thinking about directing a movie."

Kind of one of those "chickens come home to roost" ideas, if you happen to think like a chicken.
Jon

 

[ch1]

Now I could tell everyone that they should Duck this offer because if they don't their Goose will be cooked. Since, after all, if they buy your Hi-Matic thinking their making a movie sequel to Pecker they are going to look like a bunch of Turkeys who didn't have the good sense to Chicken out when they should have!

Whew!

Now if that doesn't sell your Hi-Matic - I don't know what will! 😀

 

[jan normandale]

Jon has the most creative approach to his 35 mm Classifieds on RFF, I'm doubtful that anyone comes close .. he's also a gentleman. Something some others at RFF could benefit from by emulating his style.

Right Jon? Heh! :- D

 

[allthumbs]

Well, I didn't think much of Pecker the first time I saw it, but it turned out to be a much better movie the second time around.

It irks me though that the photos in the movie were taken with an 80's SLR.

 

[ch1]

Jon has the most creative approach to his 35 mm Classifieds on RFF, I'm doubtful that anyone comes close .. he's also a gentleman. Something some others at RFF could benefit from by emulating his style.

Right Jon? Heh! :- D

Which is why I love his spiels.

Actually, I thought he got too much into the movie review on this one that folks have had trouble finding the real message (i.e. that he wants to sell you the Hi-Matic)!

It's amazing how many folks are keying off of the movie and not seeing the sales pitch!

Or maybe they are?

Perhaps Jon has such a subtle touch that - err Jon, did someone "bite" on the Hi-Matic yet?

 

[Krasnaya_Zvezda]

"Two Lane Blacktop"--- saw it when 1st released on big screen. I was what, 17 or 18. When it ended, I turned to my buddy and said, "I could've saved a couple of hours and just thrown $2.50 down a sewer instead of sitting through this crap."
Well. Not so long ago, it was on cable, and I thought surely it wasn't as bad as I recall... hah, I was surprised to find that I had a little taste and eye for quality even as a misguided teen, for that movie STILL STUNK!
And so did "Pecker". Except for the wacky grandma and her Virgin Mary.
"Enthusiast movies". Some people who are fanatics over certain things, like rangefinders or cars, will enjoy a movie about their chosen subject no matter how lousy it is.
Golfers and "Tin Cup" comes to mind.
I, on the other hand, really enjoyed "Searching for Bobby Fischer", even though it was formulaic and trite.