Blu-ray + DVD

Microwave Massacre Blu-ray Review

Undercooked.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, August 16, 2016

Just in case your appetite hadn't been whetted by the antics of 1982's cannibalism comedy Eating Raoul , the following year offered a new item on this rather bizarre menu, 1983's cannibalism comedy. Despite certain similarities in content and at least fleetingly in tone, the two films are resolutely different, withcoming off as a fairly tart soufflé, despite its more provocative elements, in comparison to's denser and frankly less funny mix of ingredients. Part of what givesits comedic momentum is the fact that the cannibalism serves as a means to an end, the upward mobility of the film's focal couple. In, it just kind of happens and the comedy is expected to simply flow from that event, I guess like juices from a well cooked side of meat. There's actually no real momentum at all to much of, comedic or otherwise, with Jackie Vernon on hand as Donald, a haplessof a construction worker who's living his own 20th century version of, albeit without that helpful taming part. Donald's wife May (Claire Ginsberg) actually shares some of the same proclivities as Paul and Mary do in, especially in terms of wanting to better her lot in life, something she (like the couple in the earlier film) think can be attained, at least in part, by fine dining. Donald isn't convinced, however, and finds her cooking efforts disconcerting, making him an outcast rather than one of the in crowd. When a little "domestic incident" leads to May's demise, Donald is left with a side of beef he never expected to have, and therein lies the supposed comedic predicament of the film.Part of what ailsis the fact that the whole cannibalism angle, supposedly the film's raison d'être, doesn't even really enter the fray until around the 30 minute mark (and, yes, Ijust use the term raison d'être with regard to this film). That leaves the opening half hour or so to wallow in silly exploits like the opening sequence which features a rather buxom beauty sticking her "assets" through a hole in a wall surrounding a construction site, to the amazement of several construction workers. (The commentary mentions that this sequence was thought up on the fly when the proposed opening, of May doing grocery shopping, was nixed when the grocery store they had scouted refused to let the crew shoot there.) It's obvious from the get go thatis not going to be a paradigm of wit, and in fact even some of the unapologetically juvenile humor fails to really connect due to some less than felicitous writing and a kind of "not ready for prime time" ambience with regard to several of the performers.Another kind of odd and hobbling aspect to the film is May herself. She's obviously supposed to be an unrequited harridan, and yet at the core of the character is an aging wife who's evidently trying to woo her husband back into romantic clinches courtesy of gourmet food. That subtext tends to subvert the interchanges between May and Donald, and it in fact makes Donald kind of a heel when you get right down to it, despite the fact that Thomas Singer's screenplay ultimately gives lip service (literally and figuratively) to May's more argumentative tendencies. The attack scene where Donald finally mitigates May's bitchiness is surprisingly effective on one level, but it also seems to just kind of come out of nowhere, the desperate measure of a desperate screenwriter rather than a desperate character.The rest of the film just kind of ambles along aimlessly, with Donald taking care of business (so to speak) by adding a few other "ingredients" to his May main course, and sharing his handiwork with his coworkers Philip (Al Troup) and Roosevelt (Loren Schein). Some unabashedly politically incorrect humor is repeatedly utilized with regard to the construction workers, including some patently anti-gay jokes which probably weren't all that funny in 1983 and may in fact strike some as downright objectionable in 2016. Through it all Jackie Vernon (evidently a second choice after Rodney Dangerfield couldn't be corralled for the role) assumes his typical hangdog mien, but he simply doesn't have much to actually work with. Whole seeming subplots or supporting characters are introduced, like the bizarre neighbors or the Gladys Kravitz type who shows up later to check on May, but nothing is ever developed well enough to warrant much in the laughs department. This is one cinematic meal that definitely could have used more spicing up. The result is not so much bland as it is largely forgettable.