Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Progressive Cinema Scorecard: The Howling

The Progressive Cinema Scorecard: The Howling
  • For being a werewolf movie that doesn’t revolve around fighting / fucking vampires. = +20pts
  • Slim Pickens! = +10pts
  • Having the mom from E.T. watch rape porn. = -20pts
  • For defining the word 'cynosure' for me. Don't insult my intelligence! I know what cynosure means! It means...Wait, what does it mean again? = -3pts
  • For the lady, whose action-figured build, football player of a golden-mustachioed husband, is making us question our sexuality. (In 1981 = -10pts, In 2011 = +15pts) = +5pts
  • For trusting the skeezy guy who played Mr. Steed in The Avengers.  = -10pts
  • For using a tweaked-out hippie in place of a hunting dog.  = +10pts
  • For this greeting of a new character, "Hello, good friend!" That's some nice seamless writing, right there. = -3pts
  • For having sex on the beach. (Sand gets everywhere.) = -69pts (heh, heh)
  • For Golden-locked husband slapping wife. I'm so over him now. =  -10pts
  • For having a Werewolf use a filing cabinet. = +10pts
  • Killer pulling out piece of his own brain! = +25pts
  • Werewolf Slim Pickens! = +50pts
  • Lead turning into the cutest, cuddliest werewolf ever. = +10 pts. 
  • On live TV!  = +20pts
Progressive Cinema Scorecard Total = +45pts

For not trying to be anything more than scary entertainment featuring werewolves, not the worse movie the scorecard has ever scored. Joe Dante sneaks in a few jabs about our disaffected, media-saturated society, but the commentary just punctuates the action, rather than overwhelm it, though the years have seriously dated the scary factor of the special effects. While not a scorecard legend, we can't think of a more appropriate icon for the event than a werewolf Slim Pickens.

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