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Smilin' Jack Ruby looks at THE MATING HABITS OF THE EARTHBOUND HUMAN

Published at:  May 10, 1999 1:46:58 AM CDT

Well, shucks... I thought that I'd never get another shot at seeing this flick. It played the festival circuit and I'd never gotten the chance to see it though I had heard great buzz on the film throughout the festivals that it played. BUT, the luck is with me and alot of you as well. Seems the film has been picked up and Smilin' Jack Ruby was Johnny on the Spot with the third row view... Heeeeeeeres Jack!



Hey Harry, Smilin' Jack Ruby here

Thought with all the flap over the new "Star Wars" pic, I might as well
submit a review of a much smaller film as an alternative. I have no idea
when it will be released domestically, but it will be going through
Columbia TriStar when it does.

I saw "The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human" awhile back and remember
mostly the fact that the audience didn't stop laughing the entire time,
definitely a good sign. The plot concerns the meeting and subsequent
courtship of two people, Billy Waterston (played by MacKenzie Astin) and
Jenny Smith (played by Carmen Electra), as they progress from lustful
early dating, to sex, to parenting, to marriage and all the trials
therein. The set-up, however, is that what you are watching is actually a
documentary of human relations for an unknown alien species to watch,
which is the strong point of the pic as David Hyde Pierce provides the
narration.

David Hyde Pierce is damn funny on "Frasier" and functionally plays that
same character here (never seen, however) - the always analyzing and
frankly condescending at times, Niles Crane. He narrates it from start to
finish and, as can be expected, pokes fun at almost every nuance of human
interaction.

This kind of thing has been seen before, the documentary of human
existence as comedy for other species to watch (Constance Congdon's play
"Tales of the Lost Formicans" comes to mind), but this one had just the
right tone to really keep people laughing and would play well on the indie
circuit sometime in mid-summer. It was written and directed by first
time filmmaking, longtime TV-writer Jeff Abugov and produced by
ShadowCatcher who last year brought us "Smoke Signals." Larry Estes, one
of the producers who introduced the film to that night's audience, has
been responsible for green-lighting a long list of films in his career and
has been involved in everything from "sex, lies, and videotape" and
"Passion Fish," to the notorious "Dark Backward," truly one of the oddest
films on record.

For those who are dying to know if Carmen Electra takes her clothes off,
let it be said that I never found the nudity in this film to be exploitive
as it is in a lot of fare. By stating as much, it assures the viewer that
she most certainly does take her clothes off without sounding so much the
lech.

Anyway, if this film comes to your town, I can certainly see spending the
afternoon watching this pic in the local arthouse as a real alternative to
all the dreck playing at the mall (I shouldn't say that as I just saw the
excellent "Election" at a mall). Listening to David Hyde Pierce's
narration and the occasional surreal aberration that pokes it's way into
this stylized first-time effort is definitely worth the price of
admission. It also proves, to those who thought otherwise, that Carmen
Electra actually does have acting talent, despite the roles that have
otherwise inundated her credit list.

-Smilin' Jack Ruby






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    Readers Talkback

  • May 10, 1999 7:16:08 AM CDT

    Smilin' Jack Ruby is a CHONGA!!

    by fruhead

    I don't believe anything homeboy says!! He's a pecker-pie full of lovebirds and I think his dick is smaller than his mind WHICH IS REALLY SMALL SO THAT MAKES HIS DICK SMALL!!!!!! Smilin' Jack Ruby listens to Jim Nabors albums and eats peanut-butter sammiches with dijon mustard!! MUSTARD YOU FUCKS!!! I am so full of rage that I can't contain me!! EXPLODE EXPLODE!!!! He bites the chonga and makes Dana Plato's death like a carnival!! Push it THROUGH THE WALL!! WALL!!! Smilin Jack Ruby RUBY Gnome Gnorm Gnome Gnorm RUBY!! Mirage is my favorite because he was always fighting for his true identity! Jack RUBY eats CHOCOLATE CONDOMS in PIE!!! I love Him the fucker!! I LOVE HIM!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 10, 1999 2:46:57 PM CDT

    Ooooookay

    by king fausto

    That has my vote for the strangest talkback response yet.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 10, 1999 4:18:23 PM CDT

    RE: Oooooooookay

    by tomtomb

    I second!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 10, 1999 5:38:24 PM CDT

    actually...

    by eppy

    I wish more talkbacks were like that. I mean, besides the fact that it was really amusing, it allowed the writer to vent his/her rage without being personal and offensive. Seems like taking out aggression is all a lot of TB'ers do (read: LaneMyers) so it's nice to see this new, relatively victimless approach.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 10, 1999 7:58:14 PM CDT

    I third the motion

    by smilin'jackruby

    Fruhead, you are the oddest oddball on this site. But hey, what the hell, I love you, too.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 24, 2006 12:30:36 PM CDT

    'Cause he won't get to perform them himself?

    by wolfpack

    Reply to Talkback

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