My Dad came for a visit last week. Now, Pop isn’t really a film goin’ kind of guy. In fact, I had to do some pretty hefty arm-twisting just to persuade him to go see “Titanic.” So, when he expressed an interest in this year’s “Spike & Mike” fest, I about fell over and puked.
Featuring thirteen premieres along with an assorted collection of old favorites such as “No Neck Joe” and “Hut Sluts,” all hosted by a gonzo live-wire emcee, this year’s edition rocked. Among the many highlights were Adam Smith’s “Sea Slugs”, a saga of Pirate slugs on the high seas, and Greg Holfeld’s brilliant “Barflies,” an hilarious tale of – what else? – two drunk flies in a bar. There was even not one but two versions of the now cult classic “The Spirit of Christmas,” the raucously rude ancestor of “Southpark.”
The hit of the night was Mike Johnson’s “Devil Went Down to Georgia,” a stunning music video of the Charlie Daniels classic, covered by Primus’ Les Claypool. Produced by the team that brought us “Nightmare Before Christmas” and “James and the Giant Peach,” “Devil…” completely blew away the crowd.
The only clunker of the evening was Steve Margolis’ vile and repulsive “Sloaches Fun House.” It takes a lot to make a “Spike & Mike” crowd boo and hiss, but this revolting and mean-spirited hunk of crap managed to pull it off. Otherwise, this was a solid program full of laughs and featuring the entire gamut of animation styles. Check it out when it hits your town. It’s vulgar and disgusting fun for the whole family. Even my Dad.
