Repossessed (1990)
DIRECTOR: Bob Logan CAST: Linda Blair, Ned Beatty, Leslie Nielsen (credited as Enrico Pallazzo)
After a long summer’s break, Awfully Good Movies has once again returned for its 100th episode spectacular, and since the new CONJURING spinoff THE NUN is haunting movie theaters this weekend, let’s conjure the spirit of another spiritual horror movie franchise with Linda Blair reprising her Oscar-nominated satanic role from THE EXORCIST alongside Leslie Nielsen in the 1990 spoof movie REPOSSESSED! Yes, not only did Linda Blair have enough of a sense of humor to revisit her infamous pea-soup-spitting performance in an AIRPLANE-style spoof comedy, but she also co-starred alongside the white-haired Canadian character actor-turned-comedic goofball without whom the spoof comedy genre would not exist. But whenever you had Leslie Nielsen starring in a spoof movie without a single Zucker Brother involved, things could get pretty ugly, and it doesn’t get much uglier than REPOSSESSED. Sure, the idea of an adult Regan MacNeil–or Nancy Aglet, as she’s named here to avoid the wrath of Warner Bros.–having to battle once again with Captain Howdy while managing her stable suburban life with a husband and two kids sounds like an intriguing premise–hell, wasn’t that kind of like the plot of that EXORCIST TV show they just cancelled? But here, it’s just a set-up for the same old EXORCIST jokes you’ve already seen done better involving Richard Pryor or the SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE cast. And while Linda Blair is certainly having fun here, the audience certainly isn’t, especially when you sideline the main plot so Ned Beatty can come into the movie as a Jim Bakker-esque televangelist who wants to broadcast Nancy’s exorcism on live TV. Now this EXORCIST spoof wants to be a scathing satire on televangelism as well, complete with an oddball array of then-famous celebrity cameos (Jake Steinfeld, anyone?) and a bunch of badly delivered punchlines, with the results turning out to be less YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and more SILENCE OF THE HAMS starring Dom DeLuise. It’s a movie so bad that I don’t think Satan would even want to take credit for its existence. EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING, on the other hand? Oh, yeah…that one was all Pazuzu, baby.
And on a personal note: Thanks again to everyone who’s kept this show rolling for four years and 100 episodes…and hopefully counting on both fronts. Without delving into anything personal, I’ve had a pretty big shock lately in my personal life, and it hasn’t left me feeling great. So thanks so much to anyone out there who’s stood by me while I’ve taken some time to collect myself and give you the best damn Internet review show possible. Working on this new review after my two-month break, I once again felt truly happy to do what I do, to provide some kind of light out there in an online atmosphere that tends to champion negativity towards one another. I have been fortunate enough to meet a whole array of awesome people through landing this job, and I have never felt less alone in the universe than I have in getting to meet all these people. If I’ve gotten to make so many people happy across this crazy world with what I like to talk about, then I have found what Navin Johnson would refer to as “my special purpose”, and I guess that my special purpose happens to be dick jokes. So thanks again, whoever you are out there. I love you, and I don’t care who knows it. And to all the numerous YouTube critics whom I consider my influences: All of you are funnier than me and I wholeheartedly admit as much. Party on.
For those of you need to renew your bad movie faith, let the power of Awfully Good Movies compel you…