The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Dir: W. D. Richter
1984
****
Earl Mac Rauch and W. D. Richter's inter-dimensional adventure comedy; The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is an action, sci-fi, music video, Kung-fu, Alien invasion, romantic satire. I think it is safe to say that it is one of a kind. It looks and feels like it was made up as they went along, this isn't the case but it is no surprise that the story is actually made up of several unfinished scripts Earl Mac Rauch had written over the previous 10 years. This explains the many genres explored and the multiple vocations of our protagonist (Rock Star, Neurosurgeon, Physicist, Test Pilot). Some times 'why not' is as good a reason as any and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension proves it. It's almost impossible to keep up with but Peter Weller's straight faced chiseled performance, John Lithgow's manic wire-haired evil scientist act and watching Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli and Dan Hedaya running around in lizard in suit costumes (plus the awesome 80's synth soundtrack) make it impossible not to love or look away from. It's a chaotic maddening of ideas that MTV owe a great deal of gratitude, it's nuts and ridiculously enjoyable and quite possibly the ultimate 80's movie.