Now, now, hear me out. Robert Altman’s Popeye deserves a rewatch. Look, I’ll be the first to admit it isn’t a perfect movie. It isn’t even close. But it is a good movie. My Canadian friend, Jonathan White says, “Popeye is a coke-fueled masterpiece.” He’s right, of course. There is a hell of a lot going on in Popeye, and a lot of it is worth a look.

We’ll start with Harry Nilsson. His score and songs (with the help of Van Dyke Parks, no less!) are as wacky as they are genius. Shelley Duvall’s songs “He’s Large” and, singularly, “He Needs Me” are standouts; the latter being especially poignant due to Duvall’s recent troubles. Williams has a lovely moment when he sings “Swee’Pea’s Lullaby” as he writes a letter to his lost adopted son.

The ensemble cast is fantastic; Paul Dooley plays “Wimpy”, forever trying to scam a burger, wherever he can. Linda Hunt and Dennis Franz are there as well, stirring the pot and generally making Popeye’s life a misery. Klaus Voormann even shows up! Anything that Voorman is in is instantly awesome. Bill Irwin, who really deserves his own entry in “Overlooked and Underseen”, is a national treasure and should be treated as such. Although Popeye is his first feature film, Irwin has been around since the 1970s when he revived the old-timey Vaudevillian stage clown. He plays “Ham Gravy” in the movie and his skills and cartoon-like slapstick are put to good use. If you have kids, or you are one, you probably know Irwin best as “Mr. Noodle” from Sesame Street.

Shelley Duvall plays “Olive Oyl” like a cartoon sketch come to life. In the cartoons, I always thought the ‘toon Olive was annoying as hell but Duvall makes the character likeable. Let’s face it, Olive is fickle as fuck, but Duvall’s portrayal makes the character rather endearing. Bud Spencer lookalike Paul L. Smith as “Bluto” lumbers and glowers his way through the film, as Bluto should. The beloved Ray Walston shows up as Popeye’s “Pap” but by this time, the movie has gone arse over apex.