The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

So while watching Robocop the other night I was struck by how great Peter Weller is, and how unforgivably long it's been since I've seen The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. I totally dig this movie, but writing a summary of it is nigh-impossible... I will give it a shot. So. Buckaroo (Weller) is a rock star/physicist/brain surgeon/adventurer/possible samurai who has his own comic book based on him and his gang/back-up band, the Hong Kong Cavaliers. When he passes through another dimension in his trailblazing new invention, Buckaroo accidentally sets off a chain of weirder and weirder events.

Led by the crazed John Whorfin (John Lithgow), aliens from a parallel world who escaped to our Earth decades ago are now trying to steal his technology so they can travel back. A friendly Rastafarian alien pops in to warn the Cavaliers and help them stop a potential inter-dimensional war. Also a down-on-her-luck lady named Penny Priddy (Ellen Barkin), who looks exactly like Buckaroo's dead wife and is probably her long-lost twin, joins up with them for no particular reason.

Oh jeez, this movie be crazy. As much as I love it, it infuriated me when I first saw it. All of the events of this film are treated as if this is the middle of a story, with frequent references to other characters and past happenings that are never elaborated upon or explained, plus a fake-out "Look for the sequel!" title card. I'm left with constant questions about just about everything (ostensibly some of this is explained in some of the dvd's special features that I have yet to watch, also there are some comic books produced after the film but I'm not sure how canon they are; the point here is the movie by itself though): How did the gang get together? Why do the good aliens all have Jamaican accents but the bad ones don't? Why do they spend all their time playing chess on really high stools? Where did Buckaroo study? Will he remain ionized for the rest of his life? What happened to his wife? Where did Penny come from? How the hell did Buckaroo become this world-renowned scientist/rocker/comic book star? What the hell is happening at any given point in time? However, by now I actually find all that part of the film's charm. It is strange and inventive and doesn't feel the need to constantly exposit things for its audience, who are free to sit back and enjoy the ride even if they don't completely understand it.

There's never a dull moment with Buckaroo Banzai and his crew, from mountain-hopping field tests to smoky rock shows to electrifying battles, they've always got one thing or another going down. It's got space ships and big game hunting and a motorcycle chase, plus a sneaky rescue plan, anti-military satire, and torture-by-electricity (I love that!). The dialogue is often weirdly antiquated, giving it this partial pulp-novel feel, and the script bounces around at a snappy pace from Buckaroo's scientific experiments and subsequent alien encounters to Whorfin's evil plot to the government's puzzled reaction and trigger-happy Cold War attitude.

It has to be said, the cast is remarkable. Aside from the ever-cool Peter Weller, Ellen Barkin's legs, and John Lithgow's pseudo-Slavic accent, there's a quick-thinking Jeff Goldblum who inexplicably dresses like a cowboy and calls himself "New Jersey", a very attractive, bleached-blonde Lewis Smith as the well-dressed, appropriately-named Perfect Tommy, an angry Christopher Lloyd unfortunately known as John Big-Boote (that's "boo-TAY"), and the sultry-voiced Clancy Brown. Plus appearances from Vincent Schiavelli, Dan Hedaya, and Ronald Lacey. I mean, jeez. There are so many people in this movie, and somehow they are all awesome! From the cool over-sized suits to the memorable naming system, all of these guys are just instantly great. That's probably why the ending credits sequence is one of the best parts of the movie.

It's fun, it's odd, it's hilarious because it's odd, and it's completely endearing even if I have no idea why. Oh, and the soundtrack is kickin'.

4.5/5

Pair This Movie With: In its approach to storytelling and overall weirdness I see a strong connection to The American Astronaut. I also think Repo Man would make for a killer double feature.

My original poster design for this film is available for purchase!