Popeye (1980)

[Mr. DS]

So I was a little uneasy about putting this one in the "good movies" section.  I'll explain why.  Today my son was watching a popeye cartoon and I thought about getting this one for him.  I watched it frequently as a child and remembered enjoying it.  However, then I thought about how even though I enjoyed it,  I remember parts of it freaking me out.  Maybe it was the comic aspect of the characters in the movie or the oddball musical numbers.  In other words, I started wondering if my son would feel the same way. 

People, including Robin Williams himself apparently, have panned this film.  I guess my point in bringing it up is to ask what kind of feeling do you have on it?  I haven't really watched it as an adult but I'm sure my opinion might change on it.  There is a lot of oddities in the plot.  For example, Swee-pee is clarvoyant.     Overall, I remember it being well acted though.

Read about the film here if you haven't seen it...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popeye_(film)

[D-Man]

Well, it's not a great movie, but at the same time, it doesn't deserve all the negative press its gotten over the years.  It's very well cast, with Williams as Popeye, Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl, and Paul L Smith of "Pieces" infamy as Bluto.  

Popeye is the kind of movie you should watch with the closed captioning on, because there's a lot of hilarious lines that are either muttered by Popeye unintelligibly, or in a sea of overlapping dialogue.  This is very much a Robert Altman film, as in it was always his specialty to come up with bizarre, but entertaining communities of people, all kinds of people.  In the case of Popeye, he really did a great job of making Sweethaven into a funny, odd, but very interesting fantasy world to put Popeye into.  

What kills it for me, though, are the songs.  It really wasn't necessary to turn this film into a musical, because the songs just get in the way of the plot in a big way.  A few of them are OK, but some are real clunkers.  I remember the first time I heard Shelley Duvall sing "He Needs Me"...I laughed my ass off, because it was just a ridiculous sounding song.  

But overall, it's a nice little film, that's worth at least once viewing.  

[Derf]

Personally, I enjoyed it. It's odd, offbeat, weird, etc. Sweethaven is, as D-Man says, an odd but interesting place. Visually, the film is fantastic; there's always something more to see with each viewing. The casting is great also. I can't imagine anyone nailing Popeye as well as Williams does, and Duvall is perfect as Olive. I even enjoy the songs. Yes, they're weird, and none of them would really make me want to buy the soundtrack, but they work in the weird world of Sweethaven, and they fit the characters. I even like the twist where Popeye hates spinach for most of the movie; it helps build toward a good climactic moment.

Would it freak out your kid? I don't know. But if you've done your job as a badmovies dad, then probably not. What kind of movies had you watched before you saw Popeye? Compare that with what your son has watched. Has he seen equally bizarre things? Discuss among yourselves. I expect a 500-word essay on my desk by Thursday. 

[SPazzo]

Funny you started this thread.  I just got the VHS for Christmas.  I thought it was entertaining, but not that great.  The last scene (with the octopus) might freak out your kid, but other than that I would let him see it.

I thought Robin Williams was good as Popeye, except for one thing.  I couldn't understand him.  He mumbled all his lines.  According to IMDb they had to re-dub in some of his lines because they were inaudible.  I wish he had just talked louder.

Also Shelly Duval as Olive Oyl was great.  I had the song she sang "He's Large" stuck in my head for a while after I watched it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRUa_E1CugU
	Small | Large

Greatest song ever!

[indianasmith]

My girlfriend (now wife) and I went to see this when it came out, my sophomore year in high school, and we really loved it!  We waited for years to see if it would come out on VHS with no luck.  Finally, about 2001 or so, it showed up in the local video store and we rented it, looking forward to a nice nostalgic viewing.

About haflway through, we gave each other a long, meaningful glance and snuggled a little closer.  I finally gave voice to the thought that was burning through both our minds at that intimate moment:


"YOU MEAN WE ACTUALLY LIKED THIS PIECE OF BOVINE EXCREMENT????"

[Mr. DS]

Good responses so far.  I think the mumbling under the breath thing for Popeye goes back to the early cartoons.  Popeye in cartoon form would belt out a series of mumbles and if you could make them out most were hilarious.  I read somewhere that by the octopus battle they had serioulsy run out of money.  Hence it's corny nature. 

[Jim H]

It's a mixed bag, but I still enjoy it.  Some really inspired casting - Shelley Duvall is great, Robin Williams does the voice great, Ray Walson was PERFECT, and Paul Smith is as well.  It also does a good job of bringing cartooniness into it with all practical effects.  It has serious problems with pacing and is a little bland towards the end, but it's definitely worth a watch.

My favorite song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOhp1L9enr4
	Small | Large

"I'm so mean I had a dream of beatin' myself up!". 

 

[The Burgomaster]

I saw this during it's theatrical run and was bored to tears.  I've seen 2 or 3 times since then, and still found it to be dull.  I WANT to like it, but I can't.  Although, I think Robin Williams performance is amusing.

[Paquita]

I think it was the best cartoon to live action I've ever seen, and I can assume it's pretty tough to pull that off so I give it a lot of credit for that.  It was a little boring, but I found the cartoon kind of boring too so I don't think that it's the movie's fault.

I have a huge crush on Paul Smith so I'll watch it whenever it's on.

[akiratubo]

Worst movie of all time?  Probably not but it seemed that way when I watched it.  It felt like part of my soul had died when this thing was finally over.  Surely one of the top five worst movie-watching experiences I've ever had.  Hell, it may be as high as #2.

[bladerunnerblues]

I have never been in a theater as crowded as when I went to see Popeye.The only time I have ever seen a line stretching all the way outside and It was so packed that people were standing in the back by the exit,through the entire movie.

[The Burgomaster]

I have never been in a theater as crowded as when I went to see Popeye.The only time I have ever seen a line stretching all the way outside and It was so packed that people were standing in the back by the exit,through the entire movie.

This was actually quite common back in the 1970s, even for "average" movies, before the emergence of the 12+ screen multiplex theaters.  I remember standing in line plenty of Friday and Saturday nights at my local 2-screen theater, then trying to find a seat.  There were always ushers walking up and down the aisles with flashlights trying to find seats for people who showed up late.  I also remember standing in the lobby on many occasions and hearing the theater manager announce over the intercom if a movie was sold out.  I never stood up to watch a movie, but I saw plenty of other people do it.

[BoyScoutKevin]

I know when people compile a list of films that are considered megaflops, you'll sometimes see this film listed. That may be, because of all the money I understand it lost, but I enjoyed it, when I saw it in the theater on first release.

[The Burgomaster]

One thing that might have improved this movie is if they snipped 15 or 20 minutes off the running time.  It definitely has pacing problems.