Episode 513: The Brain That Wouldn't Die

MST3K one-line description: When a doctor's fiancee is decapitated, he keeps her head alive in a laboratory and tries to find her a new body.

Overall Notes: 

Rob: This movie has a sentimental value to me because I found a copy on VHS and gave it to Erica as my first present to her. I also think it's interesting that the first official dvd release was Mike's debut episode.

Erica: I think, although I could be wrong, that this is the only MSTie episode I've ever watched unriffed. It was a very late night in college when I flipped around the channels for something to watch while playing some Age of Empires II (the hottest game 2003 had to offer). Somehow I landed on this, and even though I hadn't yet seen the riffed version, its awfulness is still quite apparent.

The Movie:

Rob: C+
Brain is effective a riff on Frankenstein: A scientist who wants to bring life to those who would normally die. In this case, the focus is on one part...a brain, with the plot of the movie being the horror of being alive contrasted with the doctors need to kill in order to find a new body for his wife. The monster creature is hidden for the bulk of the film, trying to build up suspense. It has some cool story beats and never really stops dead, but the hunt for a woman scenes are laughable bad and its got very little going in terms of acting or set work. The worst bit is probably a too clever by half comment where the doc tells his victim (who had a badly made up scarred face) exactly what he plans to do...chop her head off. There are far worse base movies. This one is run of the mill C Movie fare.

I'm going to tell you the plot of this movie now.

Erica: B
This movie has a plot and the directing isn't quite as abysmal as many of the other films, and it was entertaining enough to sit through for two hours without riffs. And one could easily write a thinkpiece on the message this movie gives about female subjugation under patriarchy. (But one shouldn't!) Yes, the makeup is bad, but I've seen worse. There's even a sympathetic character in the mad scientist's Igor-type assistant, whose hand appears to be permanently fused with an oven mitt. I'd hesitate to call this movie "good," but as MSTie films go, well... it's kinda good? The titular brain and/or head that wouldn't die is sufficiently creepy enough on her own that not even the actress's terrible delivery can nullify it. Igor's scenery-chewing death scene (spoiler warning for a sixty-year-old movie) is a thing of beauty.

A young Dan Ackroyd gets character ideas for sketch comedy

The Riffs:

Rob: B+ 
The riffing, on the other hand, is quite good. Mike jumps in like a natural, and he's honestly the best host at delivering lines in the theater. There is instant chesmistry with the bots in terms of the jokes. I was looking carefully this time for signs it might be a little rough due to this being Nelson's debut and didn't find anything. The jokes are well timed, come frequently (sometimes a problem in Joel era and periodically during the Sci Fi years), and have a nice relation to the movie without just being "the quality sucks" over and over. Brain does have a few cringe-worthy sexist jokes about the middle aged women playing 22 year olds and Mike wanting to watch the cat fight.

Erica: B+
The differences between Mike and Joel's joke delivery are immediately apparent, as Mike shoots out jokes like machine-gun fire, and nearly all of them manage to land. As I told Rob, you'd think he'd been doing this for five years already. None of the jokes have really stuck with me a day later (aside from the Jersey squeal Mike gives to one of the strippers -- that one always makes me laugh), so this set doesn't rate as highly as some others, but there isn't a quiet spot in the whole riff, and this joke-heavy format has remained all the way through season 11.

The Segments:

Rob: B- 
My memory told me the sketches were better, but my memory was wrong. After starting off strong with Getting Mike's name wrong and Dr F being mad that Mike isn't awed by his presence then following it up with Mike trying to escape and failing, the sketches peter out, with an unenthusiastic prop bit and Mary Jo showing up as the Brain, which was a great visual but didn't have a lot of strong joke impact. Frank also feels underutilized.

Erica: C+
The opening sketch is quite good (I particularly liked Tom turning "gutterbumbershoot" into an oom-pah song), but after that they're just kind of there. The sketch about hats for Jan in the Pan is a bit too obvious, and while I usually love Mary Jo's sketch performances she kind of phones this one in. Overall, not an auspicious start to Mike's outside-the-theater activities, although luckily it gets a lot better! (And keep in mind that even a mediocre set of MSTie sketches is still funny as hell.)

Overall Score:

Rob: B  
A lot to like, not a bad episode to show a newbie to MST3k, and iconic because of it being Mike's debut. But it wasn't as good as I remembered it, mostly because of the sketches being funny, not absurd, and not tied strongly to the movie. This one is a solid top middle for me, so it's place at #1 is solely due to being first and won't last past Eegah.

Erica: B
It's a good episode. Not a great one, but a good one. The transition between Joel and Mike was about as smooth as anyone could have hoped for, and I always prefer the episodes with watchable movies. Overall, a good introduction to Mike for anyone stunned by a mid-season replacement.

I'm smiling because this movie is almost over!