The actual on-screen title is Nasty Rabbit: Spies-a-Go-Go: AKA: The Nasty Rabbit. Man, you know you’re in trouble when the title can’t even make up its damn mind.
I’m a bigger Arch Hall, Jr. fan than most. I enjoyed Eegah. I think The Choppers is better than most give it credit for. I also thought his performance in James Landis’ The Sadist was particularly good. Well, Landis must’ve forgotten everything about filmmaking by the time he made this. I have to say The Nasty Rabbit is one of THE worst movies ever made. It makes Wild Guitar look like Jailhouse Rock. Co-written by Arch Hall, Sr., it is an inane and painfully unfunny spy comedy.
Russia plans to wipe out the U.S. by unleashing biological warfare using a white rabbit. A Russian agent (Michael Terr) poses as a cowboy and heads to a dude ranch. Meanwhile, rock n’ roller Hall arrives on the scene as the ranch’s scheduled entertainment. Actually, he’s working undercover with the American government to stop the Russian’s idiotic plot. A sexy double agent (gangster moll turned Z-movie actress Liz Renay) also shows up to complicate matters.
I can usually sit through a bad horror movie just for the cheesy acting. I can usually sit through a bad sci-fi flick thanks to the horrible effects. Sitting through a comedy that has nary a laugh is a horse of a different color. The Nasty Rabbit is a hodgepodge of lame gags, idiotic sound effects, cutaways to animal reaction shots, unfunny stereotypes, and comic rodeo footage. Oh, and did I mention the rabbit TALKS?!?
I guess it goes without saying that Arch is the best part of the movie. The only problem? He’s barely in it! He’s set up to be the hero, but most of the time is devoted to the various spies doing awful shtick, acting imbecilic, and generally making you want to pull your hair out from its roots. Heck, Arch’s song is kind of terrible (which is saying something), but at least when he’s on stage singing, that means no comic relief putz with a thick Russian accent isn’t doing a pratfall or running around in fast motion.
The only semi-clever moment is when a cowboy spy uses a spy phone located in his saddle. Hall’s Eegah co-star, Richard Kiel also shows up as a tall cowboy. The joke of course being that he’s a cowboy… who’s tall.
I’m a self-professed bad movie lover. The Nasty Rabbit is so bad that it made me rethink my life choices. It’s the worst of the worst.
AKA: Spies-a-Go-Go.
No comments:
Post a Comment