6. The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension
Definitely file this one under "How the *(&! did this get made?" Who thought audiences in 1984 would bite for this film - the longest and coolest in-joke ever made? Its humor is so dry that I'm surprised the film reels didn't crackle and break when they were originally screened in theaters. Trying to define The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension is a pointless enterprise, and the movie should simply be enjoyed for what is. So I'll keep this brief. True, any film with dialog such as "Buckaroo, The White House wants to know is everything OK with the alien space craft from Planet 10... or should we just go ahead and destroy Russia?" is obviously going for laughs. Buckaroo Banzai is certainly a loving send-up of the 1930's pulps, especially the all-together perfect Doc Savage - who was, yes, a doctor, scientist, adventurer, inventor, and musician in much the same way as Peter Weller's titular character. (Weller absolutely kills in this movie, by the way.) It certainly understands the then-emerging cinematic language pioneered by Lucas and Spielberg, and how to deliver and send-up those thrills at the same time. But here's what sets Buckaroo Banzai apart from other films with a similar tone. It never winks at the audience. Everyone involved was clearly in on the joke, but they had the good sense to play it straight. The creative team was more interested in the characters and the world they were building than the jokes or the special effects. It's obvious that writer Earl Mac Ruach and director W.D. Richter had a lot more planned for Buckaroo Banzai and The Hong Kong Cavaliers. I'm not sure they would've been able to capture lightening in a bottle twice, but I wish we could have found out.