"Mystery Science Theatre 3000" has to be, without argument, one of the most important series ever for people who love movies. Now three of the super-smart, heavily be-quipped visionaries behind that long-running love letter to B-moviedom are stopping by the Aero this Sunday to watch -- and comment on -- Ed Wood's masterful, zombie-riddled, save-the-planet-from-certain-destruction opus "Plan 9 from Outer Space."
MST3K wrapped years back, and now Michael J. Nelson -- the human on the series -- joins Kevin Murphy, also known as rascally, gumball-machine 'bot Tom Servo and "Brain Guy" Bill Corbett, to riff on films via RiffTrax. A set of downloadable audio tracks to be listened to alongside a film, RiffTrax covers some newer, edgier fare (we're keen to see "Memento") but the not-so-sly asides and observations from the guys sting just as sweetly (or jab just as hard). While the tracks are always available for purchase via the RiffTrax site, the chance to see the RiffTrax trio live is a rare one, so film buffs best not dilly-dally.
And yes, we said "important" in reference to a television show where a man and his wisecracking robot pals were trapped on a satellite in space and forced to watch terrible, why-was-that-ever-committed-to-celluloid fare. While movie review shows are (usually) interesting and plentiful, MST3K, for all its tomfoolery and robot-based hijinks, was one of the few film shows to do just what we all do at home: prattle on about a movie while we're watching it.
Only the guys did so in an intelligent, lively manner, while our witty comments about the plot or direction typically fall flat and result in our friends awkwardly heading to the kitchen to see if there are any more ham spirals or beer left.
Sunday, November 2
5 and 8PM
$27 general
Aero Theater, 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica
310-260-1528
