The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension: If only the crew had had a Priddy Penny! Woo!

The way Legend is a fantasy version of Bladerunner, Buckaroo Bonzai is clearly a sci-fi version of The Princess Bride. The film seems to take itself just seriously enough that when it suddenly, and briefly, isn't trying really hard, and is in factbeing subtly and brilliantly hilarious, I feel like the wool has been pulled, and I'm the dumbest guy in the room for not getting it. Much like Wet Hot American Summer, it took me a good half of the film to understand that it was a lot smarter than I am, and that I have no idea what this film is about. A stealth tongue-in-cheek that reminds us of Mel Brooks but stands, I think, more in the category of John Carpenter. It's 80's Micheal Bay in the best way, until it suddenly isn't, and that circular logic is exactly why it's a cult film. It has crept it's way into my mind too. I can honestly say I hope there will one day be a "Buckaroo Bonzai against the Crime Syndicate" or whatever the hell the end credits promised. Keep in ind I just saw this recently, long after I noticed the in-jokes peppered throughout all nerd-dom, and I saw it in my friend's livingroom, not some smelly darkened, b-run, Midnight At the Crust Theatre, full of whooping Jeff Goldblum fans, screaming "No matter where you go...!" at the screen. Well, I guess my friend did yell that a few times... but still. Buckaroo Banzai and the who cares dimension zork whatever has a power beyond it's embracing fanbase because it is so many things at once, and when something is trying that hard to be the best ever, well, you can't hold anything against it. I mean, Christopher Lloyd? Jon Lithgow?! That sad-faced guy from Ghost?! Sign me the fuck up.

Extra points for directly inspiring The Life Aquatic.